


With You I Have Everything

by OnceuponaSwan



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst, F/M, Police AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2018-12-31 01:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12121824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceuponaSwan/pseuds/OnceuponaSwan
Summary: Emma Swan is looking to start over with her son Henry. Boston seemed as good of a place as any to escape her ex-boyfriend. After receiving an officer job at the Boston PD, she feels drawn to the police chief, Killian Jones. Both too stubborn and broken, they embark on a romance that can only get tricker as the secret gets out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first AU, so please let me know what you think. Should I keep going? It is also unbetaed so any mistakes are due to my laziness. xoxo

Emma Swan stood in the center of her new room in a dingy apartment in Boston. It wasn't bad in terms of it being unsafe. It was just not what she wanted for herself or Henry. But she needed to start somewhere, and until she landed a job, this would have to do.

"Okay, Henry, let's go out and see what's around?" Emma walked into her twelve-year-old son's room. Emma was still amazed at how strong and brave her kid was. Emma was only 18 when she had him, and she didn't expect to keep him, but she'd be damned if he ended up bouncing from foster home to foster home like she did when she was a kid. That's probably would led her to taking up with Neal and getting arrested for a crime that wasn't hers.

"We should get some pizza!" he exclaims, hopping off his twin sized bed. Tomorrow he starts junior high, and Emma begins her job search. For the past six years, Emma has been a bail bonds person, but that's becoming too dangerous for a mother with a child to think about. However, she took criminal justice at her community college, and she knows that she'll end up right at the station tomorrow morning to fill out an application.

Emma agrees to the pizza. After all, they drove over ten hours today, and she certainly doesn't feel like cooking. By the time 10 rolls around, she's tucked in her bed. The exhaustion of moving taking a toll on her. She snuggles under the covers, tears threatening to overcome her. But she doesn't want to be weak for Henry. She has to be strong for the both of them. Neal wanted to take her son away, threatened her countless times. They had to get away from him and start over. So she left without a trace. 

The sound of cars beeping awakes her at promptly 6:15. Groaning, she throws back her covers. Henry doesn't need to be awake for school for another hour, so she ventures into the kitchen. She didn't unpack most of the kitchen stuff. However, she made it a point to unpack her Keurig. An Emma without her coffee in the morning is something the city of Boston does not need to witness. Especially if she needs to land a job.

Pouring a good amount of cream into her coffee, she takes it outside on their small balcony. The sight isn't great, but at least it's not the back of an alley. It overlooks the bustling streets of the city. Leaning against the railing, Emma thinks about what her life would have been like if she didn't spend time in jail. Would she have overlooked what Neal did and got back together with him? Would she be in a more secure place in her life than she is now? It's the what-if questions that leave her feeling overwhelmed.

After Henry has eaten breakfast, she walks him to the junior high a few blocks over. Lucky for her, the police station is the next block over from the school. The location couldn't be better. She smooths down her black pencil skirt and checks to ensure the buttons on her white blouse are all done up. Although she isn't interviewing today, it's always a good impression to dress the part when applying for a job. It makes her look like she means business. Which she does; she desperately needs a job and quick.

The secretary greets her with a warm smile on her face. She introduces herself as Ruby.

"Um, I'm here to apply for a job as an officer," Emma tells her.

Ruby rummages through the file cabinet behind her, extracting a resume for Emma to fill out. Emma thanks her and goes over to the chair to fill it out. Once she's done, Ruby tells her they'll be in touch if the opportunity arises. Meaning if Emma fits the profile to protect the citizens of Boston. Walking out of the office, she walks aimlessly down the street. It's only been a day, and she's already over being unemployed. Being busy helps her take her mind off the disaster that is her life. The only saving grace she has is Henry.

About two hours later Emma receives a call. It's an interview opportunity from the Boston PD, and they wanted to meet with her in an hour. Emma nearly drops her coffee on the sidewalk. Maybe her life is going to start looking up from here on out. She's never had a job call her back mere hours after applying. Saying her thank you, she nearly jumps for joy out in the middle of the city street. She arrives ten minutes before the interview, going over the responses to typical interview questions. 

Ruby calls her name, ushering her to the chief's office down the hall. She reads the name on the door. Killian Jones. Hmm that doesn't sound much like a common name she hears too often. Emma's eyes collide with the bluest eyes she's ever seen. Matched with his dark hair and the scruff, he's like a hero in a cheesy romance novel she used to read as teenager. She almost forgets that she's in a professional interview. Shaking herself out of her swooning state, she offers a hand to the man. He takes it, his hand large and warm in hers.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Swan. I must say I was quite impressed with your resume when Ruby handed it to me this morning. I'm Killian Jones."

He has an accent. Emma has always had a weakness for accents.

Emma smiles at him. "Thank you, and it's great to meet you as well."

Like any other interview, Emma nails each question. She can tell her approves by the way he nods his head when she answers his questions. About twenty minutes later, he's extending his hand to her, offering her a job as an officer. He shows her around the precinct. They stop in front of a cubicle where a man with dirty blonde hair sits on the phone. When he notices Killian, he sets the phone down with a smile on his face. 

"Ms. Swan, meet David Nolan. You two will be working together for the near future. David, this is Emma Swan," Killian makes the introductions.

David grips Emma's hand with an easy smile. Killian excuses himself so Emma and David can get to know one another.

"So what brings you to Boston?"

She knew the question would come sooner or later. "Just thought it was time for a change. Tallahassee wasn't very good to me, but my son and I are excited to be here."

David keeps the smile plastered on his face. "You have a son? How old is he?"

"He, Henry, is twelve. He started seventh grade today."

Emma watches David's face for the usual reaction she gets when she tells people how old her son is. He, however, doesn't even flinch at it. Usually she's met with disapproving looks, especially from women old enough to be her grandmother. Being a young mom never bothered her though. She would discredit those looks because she's doing what she was meant to do: be a mother to Henry. So she never gave too much time to those looks of disapproval. Without Henry, she would be lost.

"My son just turned two," he reaches for a picture frame on his desk. "Leo. He looks a lot like my wife Mary Margaret. Are you married, Emma?"

She shakes her head. "No."

He gives her a sad smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Waving it off, she tells him it wasn't an inappropriate question to ask. "Well, I'll let you get back to work. It was nice meeting you."

"You too, Emma. See you tomorrow?"

Nodding, she heads back in the direction of Killian's office. He gestures for her to come in. "Are you okay with coming in tomorrow at 8?"

"Sure, my son goes to school a block over, so that works perfectly."

His gaze flicks down to her hand where a ring would normally be. He quirks an eyebrow slightly. "How old is the lad?"

"Twelve," she says.

"That's a fun age."

If only he knew. "Henry isn't like most preteens though. He's a lot more mature."

"Sounds like my older brother Liam at that age," Killian clears his throat. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Swan."

"Emma," she says. "Please call me Emma."

Killian nods and she waves good bye. Walking outside, she smiles up at the sky. Maybe a fresh start and a new job is exactly what she and Henry needed. It'll be good here. And in the very least, she has a way of supporting her son.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess the date will have to wait until next chapter! As always, this is unedited because I spend all week writing and editing for my student paper, and sometimes I get tired. Comments fuel this tired, college student. :p xoxo

Emma awakes with a smile on her face. Brewing her normal cup of coffee, she and Henry sit down to a plate of pancakes. He talks about the two boys who invited him to eat lunch with him. He seems to have adjusted to a new school just fine. Not that it should surprise Emma. Henry’s always been more adjustable to new situations. Emma on the other hand, no way. She didn’t like change, and she outwardly expressed that through her pessimistic attitude.

Henry continues to talk during their walk to school. Emma refrains from kissing him in front of his classmates, so she settles for a side hug. He practically runs to a group of boys hanging by the front door. She’s lucky her son was able to make friends better than she did when she was his age. Emma only really had one friend. Her name was Lily, and things between them didn’t turn out too well for either of them. The thought of her former best friends is unsettling. She hasn’t thought about her in years.

When Emma arrives at work, the place is buzzing. Killian walks past her with a man in handcuffs. The man is muttering something under his breath, and apparently Killian has had enough of the man. He slams the man against the wall, telling him to shut his mouth before he throws him in jail without an alibi. 

Emma watches in shock, her eyes flashing to Ruby who doesn’t seem to phased by what she’s just witnesses. Shaking her head, she starts to head to where her desk is. Ruby stops her though.

“You’ll get used to Killian’s…icy exterior. He’s a real nice guy, but he’s had some rough spots in his life that have made him, well, rough.”

Emma doesn’t know how to respond to that, so she nods her head and continues back to her workspace. David is just getting up from his desk chair, hands tucked in his jeans. Emma shrugs off her red leather jacket in her cubicle. 

“Ready for the first assignment?” David asks her.

Apparently sitting down for a couple of minutes and mingling with her new coworkers would be a rarity at this job. Not that she minds. She wants to keep busy. Keeping busy means she doesn’t have to worry about Neal’s threats to take Henry away. There’s no way he’d be able to find her all the way out here.

“You okay?” David asks her.

“Yeah,” she confirms. “Just still a bit tired. So what’s the assignment?”

“Interrogating some asshole who skipped bail one too many times. He’s a real sleaze too.” David hands her over the case file which she skims quickly.

“Perfect,” Emma smiles. “I’m a former bails bond person, and I worked with men like him all the time. Easy.”

David leads the way to the interrogation room with Emma at his heels. Killian is waiting outside the room, his arms crossed and eyes hard with rage. He lets David in, but steps in front of Emma before she can go in.

“I don’t want you going in there, love. That man is a creep and-“

She really shouldn’t sass off to her boss the first day, but she hates being considered weak. She can handle herself. Killian should know that well enough considering he knows her past as a bails bond person. She can detect the lies from a mile away.

“Thank you for your concern, but I know how to work these guys.”

Killian quirks an eyebrow at her. “Is that anyway to speak to someone above you, Ms. Swan?”

“Ah so we’re back to Ms. Swan?” she retorts. “You just spoke down to me, Chief Jones, and I do not like being treated like some fragile princess, so if you’ll excuse me.”

Emma Swan is not a delicate flower. She spent too much time fending for herself to be considered delicate. She can handle this. It’s one thing she’s good at. Plus, any job that she gets to utilize her super power, the better. 

Emma sits down across from the man who can’t be older than her. Killian enters the room behind her, standing against the wall. “Hi, Mr. Dean, I’m Officer Swan. Seems like you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble.”

“I told your partner here that I didn’t do shit,” the man spits out.

Pressing her lips together, she folds her hands together patiently. “Mmm I see. So you didn’t cheat on your wife with the secretary of your business and you didn’t cheat the IRS from excluding tax forms for the past three years. Is that correct?”

Mr. Dean scowls at her. “I told you, bitch, I didn’t hide anything.:

Killian is across the room before she has time to process anything. He’s grabbing the guy by the collar. “Apologize.”

“Why should I? She’s accusing me of something I didn’t do. Oh wait…is she sleeping with you? Is that why you’re so-“ 

Killian cuts him off by punching him in the eye. David is across the table, holding Killian back from doing anything else to the man. Emma leans in her chair, surprised at the reaction she just saw from Killian Jones. Why does he care how some criminal speaks to her? She’s heard much worse from other guys who skip bail. The words don’t hurt her.

“Cool off, Killian,” David instructs.

Emma can already tell David is the more level-headed person on the task force. And she can tell Killian and him are quite close. Killian doesn’t look at Emma as she leaves the room, slamming the door shut in his wake.

“Now, do you want to try again?” David asks Mr. Dean.

He spills off the same story. He’s innocent. He didn’t cheat in his wife. He would never lie to the IRS of all people. It’s the same thing she’s heard from men like him. More importantly, she knows he’s lying. The buzzing on her lie detector is going off on her.

“He’s lying,” Emma states simply. “Throw him in a cell for keeping. I’ll make sure to tell his wife that he’s been sleeping with some chick and that he’s being convicted for fraud. Not a good day for you, huh?”

Mr. Dean smirks at her. “Once my lawyer gets here, you people are toast, and I will be free.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Emma throws back at him as David pushes him out the door. 

Emma walks out of the door behind him, heading straight to Killian’s office. She knocks on the door before letting herself in. He’s sitting at his desk nursing a pack of ice on his knuckles. His eyes are hidden by his dark eyelashes. She’s enraptured by his dark beauty.

“I know I told you I could handle myself, but thank you,” Emma slumps down in the chair across from him.

“Have a drink with me,” he doesn’t even ask, just states like she’ll gladly accept.

“You’re my boss. That’d be inappropriate.”

He sets the ice pack down on his desk. “As a friend, love. Nothing more. I won’t ask you to come home with me after. Unless, of course, you want to,” he winks.

Her cheeks go flush at the innuendo. “A drink and that’s it, Jones.”

“Friday night at eight at Conner’s Pub down the street.”

“I’ll have to find someone to watch Henry. I don’t want him staying by himself in a new city.”  
“My sister-in-law can watch him. She has a son. He just turned six.”

She smiles. “That would be great. Can I have her number just so I can-“

“Run police scans on her to make sure she’s clean?” he laughs at his own retort.

“Mmm you got me,” she laughs right back. “I better get back to work.”

Sitting back at her desk, she reads over some cases. At lunch, she finds herself at the small break room table with Ruby. She talks about her boyfriend who’s a doctor at the Boston Hospital downtown. Listening to her stories about her boyfriend’s romantic gestures make Emma miss dating. The last time she went out on an actual date and not a one-night stand was over four years ago. That’s what being jaded by a man does to a woman. Her last real relationship was with a guy name Graham when she was twenty-five.

Graham had known all about her past. She told him about Neal, about Henry and everything in between. He never judged her and accepted her for who she was. If he had asked for her to marry him before everything fell apart, she would have considered. But just like everything else in her life, it did fall apart.

Apparently, Graham hated waiting for his nights when he could sleep with Emma. Not that Emma was a prude. They slept together, but she had Henry to take care of. She couldn’t leave him with a sitter all night. Graham went off and found himself another woman who didn’t have a son holding her back to maintain his sex life. Emma promptly ended that relationship without any thought.

It’s not until the clock hits 3 that she realizes she’s completely mis-scheduled. Henry gets out of school at 3:30, and she doesn’t get off work until 4. Sulking to Killian’s office, she plans to plead with him until he relents. Just a half-hour earlier.

Oddly enough, he understands her situation as a single, working mother. The downside is she nearly has to run to the school to meet Henry. She knows he can wait it out a couple of minutes, but Emma would have a better piece of mind if she was with him when he got out of school. 

“Hey, kid,” she greets him.

Henry waves good bye to a couple of boys as he makes his way over to Emma. “I had the best day at school!”

“Oh yeah? I want to hear all about it,” she says, happy that her son is happy.

The week goes by smoothly, and before Emma knows it, she’s standing outside a condo complex that puts hers to shame. Killian is letting his sister-in-law watch the kids at his house since she lives outside of the city.

A beautiful blonde woman answers the door. She smiles at Emma. “You must be Emma! I’m Elsa, Killian’s sister-in-law.”

“Hi, Killian told me a lot about you,” Emma goes to shake her hand, but Elsa grabs her in a tight hug. 

Killian emerges from the shadows with a young blonde kid on his back. Henry leans in to Emma. Henry has never shown shyness before, and she wonders why he’s being so shy right now.

“Swan, there you are,” he sets the young boy and comes over to Henry and her. He holds a single rose out to her, which must have been hiding in his pocket. Then he puts his hand out to Henry. “And you must be Henry. Your mum talks a great deal about you, lad.”

Henry quirks an eyebrow at Emma with a smile on his face. “Hopefully not bad things!”

Killian shakes his head, a smile of his own across his face. “Well, we’ve only been of acquaintance for a short time, but I can tell you they weren’t bad things at all.”

“Good because I have some embarrassing stories about her if it comes to that,” he glances over at his mom whose mouth is now hanging open.

“Well then I would ban pizza for dinner until you move away for college,” she snaps back.

Elsa laughs at that. Elsa introduces the young, blonde boy as Liam. Emma squats down to the boy, offering him her hand. He looks at it with a toothless smile, but he shakes her head. “Are you Uncle Killian’s girlfriend?”

“She’s just a friend, mate,” Killian messes up his hair. “You ready, Swan?”

Shouldering her purse, she gives Henry a peck on the cheek, threatening for him to be good for Elsa and Liam.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the angst just comes out. As always, unedited. Let me know what you think?

“I hope you don’t mind, I invited David and his wife to come along tonight. They’re meeting us at the bar,” Emma opens the door for her.

She buckles herself in and waits for him to slide into the driver’s seat. “Of course not. I could use more people I know in Boston. Especially another woman.”

“The men of Boston not up to your standards, love?” Killian jokes.

Emma can’t help but laugh at that. “They are, but it would be nice to have another friend who’s a woman. I can’t exactly talk about menstrual cycles with you and David, now can I?”

His cheeks grow red at the mention of it, so Emma is clear in her statement that that topic is off topic. “I guess not.”

“Sorry,” she says with a light laugh. “If I made you uncomfortable,” she makes sure to clarify.

He brushes it off with a laugh of his own. “Nonsense, Emma. I’ve had girlfriends before, so I’ve heard a lot about that.”

There’s a silence that follows, but it surprises Emma that she doesn’t feel awkward. Killian may be her boss, and it should make her nervous, but she just doesn’t. Maybe it’s because she trusts him. It’s silly to think so after only knowing him for less than a week, but she can’t help but feel safe when she’s around him. It also doesn’t hurt that she enjoys looking at him as well. That’s just a mere perk though.

Killian and she arrive at the bar ten minutes later. David and his wife Mary Margaret are in the corner tucked into a booth. Mary Margaret waves to them while setting her drink down. Emma’s only seen her in pictures, but she reminds her of a fairy with her dark pixie hair and round cheeks. She’s cute and perfect for David.

Mary Margaret gets out of the booth to hug Killian. Then, much of a surprise to Emma, she grabs her in a hug as well. Emma has never been very affectionate, so she lightly wraps an arm around the other woman.

“I am so happy to finally meet David’s new partner at the station. He told me you’re quite the bad ass,” her cheeks redden at the swear word.

Emma smiles at Mary Margaret and then over at David. “Aw talking about me, are you David?”

“Only the truth, Emma!” he calls over to her while lifting his beer to her like he just made the toast of the century.

Emma slides into the booth, and Killian slides in besides her. “Let me get you a drink, Swan. What would you like?”

“A rum and coke, please,” she watches him walk away.

Mary Margaret turns to Emma with an excited smile on her face. “So, Emma, what did you do before you came to Boston?”

David puts his arm around his wife. “Let the girl settle in before you start playing 20 questions, honey.”

She swats at his arm. “I’m just trying to get to know her.”

“It’s okay. I was a bail bonds person, but I figured I wanted to do more police work. It’s a steadier job and less stressful hours with a son.”

“David mentioned you had a son. Henry?”

Emma nods her head, accepting the glass Killian comes back with. She raises it to her lips. “He’s in seventh grade at the school down the street from the station.”

“I’m a fifth-grade teacher there,” Mary Margaret tells her.

The two women engage in simple questions. Emma tries her best to leave out any details as to why she left to come to Boston. She doesn’t want them to know too much about Neal. They’ll judge her. Just like everyone else seems to do. But deep down, Emma knows that these people are different. These are people she can trust.

Emma accepts another rum and coke from Killian as he downs another shot of rum. She hasn’t drunk in a while, and the alcohol seems to be going straight through her. She slumps in her seat slightly, and Killian looks over at her with concern.

“You okay there, Swan? A bit of a light-weight you are,” he puts his arms behind her on the leather of the booth.

“I haven’t drunk much lately,” she shrugs. “It’s kind of hard when you’re a single mother with a son.”

An hour or so goes by and David and Mary Margaret bid them a good night. They need to go home and relieve their babysit of duty. Killian leads Emma back to the car, his hand on the small of her back. When she gets into the car, she lets her eyes fall shut.

“Do you need me to drive Henry and you home tonight, love? You can come to retrieve your car in the morning.”  
Normally, she would insist on driving Henry and her back herself, but she accepts his offer. Liam is passed out when they get back home, and Henry is watching TV with Elsa. 

“You ready to go home, kid?” Emma puts her hand on his shoulder. “Killian is driving us home because I’m…too tired to drive.”

“Would that happen to be code for drunk?” Henry gets up from the couch, giving his mom a knowing look.

Emma quirks an eyebrow at him. “No, it’s code for I’m tired.”

Emma thanks Elsa for taking care of Henry, trying to give her some money for her trouble. Elsa waves her off though, telling Emma she can pay her back by going to get coffee sometime. She would actually like that; Elsa seems like a genuine person, and she could really use that in her life. Henry and her both could.

By the time they get home, Emma is ready to sleep for the rest of the weekend. Killian, ever the gentleman, walks them to the door, ensuring they both get inside safely. 

 

Emma awakes the next morning to the faint sounds of the TV floating from the living room. Stretching, she walks over to the Keurig to make some much-needed coffee. Her cellphone shows she has two text messages unread. Opening them, she smiles when she sees one is from Killian. He’s making sure she feels okay today. Sending him a quick, reassuring text, she looks at the other one from an unknown number. Frowning, she opens it up. It’s from Mary Margaret; David gave her her number. 

She wants to get some coffee with Emma later in the day. Emma agrees. Henry can stay home for a short time during the day when she’s down the street. However, Henry then informs her one of his friends asked him to spend the night tonight. She agrees, but insists on meeting the parents of this friend. Of course, Henry would have more plans than she did on a Saturday night. Her son made friends with almost everyone he met. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to her anymore.

After showering, Emma drives Henry to his friend’s house across town. Mary Margaret and David live nearby, so Emma agreed to meet her at a coffee shop down the street. Deeming Ian’s parents as decent people, Emma orders a large coffee while waiting for Mary Margaret to arrive. She comes rushing through the door with a smile plastered across her face. Is the woman ever not smiling?

“Sorry I’m late! Leo was being fussy with David,” she says, setting her purse over the chair. She comes back with a coffee of her own.

“Henry was like that when he was little too,” Emma comments. Although it was more with her considering Neal wasn’t involved in her life barely after she was released from jail. Drinking her coffee, she waits to see why Mary Margaret invited her out for coffee. Emma’s never been good at making small talk.

“I think Killian likes you,” she blurts out.

Emma sets her coffee mug down, a questioning look across her face. “What? We barely know each other, and even if he did, he’s my boss. It would be inappropriate.”

“Right,” Mary Margaret looks down into her coffee. “Forget I said anything, but it’s just. Killian has been so closed off for a while, and I saw how he was with you last night. He hasn’t been that way since Milah.”

“Who’s Milah?”

She puts her hand over her mouth. “Oh my gosh. I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t know that you didn’t know. And um.”

“Mary Margaret, calm down. It’s okay,” Emma tells the woman who is completely frazzled.

“Killian and she were about to get married a few years ago, but he found out she’d been cheating on him with some big shot, Mr. Gold. He owns a lot of hotels downtown. Ever since then, I haven’t seen him with a girl so serious. It was only a sling of one-night stands.”

Emma purses her lips. She has her own experience with that, but she hasn’t been with a guy for a few years now. “I didn’t know. That’s awful.”

“But when he was with you, Emma, I saw something. I saw hope.”

Emma doesn’t want to be rude to Mary Margaret because she means well, and she is a sweet woman, but she’s speaking nonsense now. “Like I said, it wouldn’t be right for us to get together. I need this job, and I can’t screw it up by dating my boss.”

“No, no, I get it!” Mary Margaret raises her hand. “Maybe all he needs is for you to be his friend. To help him heal.”

She drinks for her coffee mug, unsure of how to respond to that. She likes Killian, really likes him. He’s a good man, and he treats her with respect. She saw the way he was with his nephew, how much of a heart he has, but getting involved with him wouldn’t be a good idea. That’s much too dangerous. And besides, it’s best to be alone. Her walls are too high to open her heart up to someone who will only toy with her until he gets what he wants and then leaves her. She won’t go through it again.

“I don’t date much,” she states. She doesn’t know why she confesses this, but there’s something about Mary Margaret that makes her trust her. Maybe it’s because she’s a teacher, and Emma always trusted her teachers when she was in school. But maybe it’s the way Mary Margaret looks at her. In a way that lets her know the other woman doesn’t think she’s weak or ice cold. 

Mary Margaret nods her head as if in understanding. “I don’t want to pry, Emma, and please tell me if I am, but is the reason you’re in Boston because of a man?”

Emma shifts in her seat, looking around the room. “Henry’s father. He’s not a good man.”

“Are you in trouble, Emma? Please trust me because I’d want to help you,” Mary Margaret reaches over to cover Emma’s hand with hers and Emma lets her.

A tear trickles from Emma’s eyes. “No. We’re okay. But thank you. Uh-if you don’t mind, I have to leave.”

Emma gets up and Mary Margaret watches her leave with a concerned look on her face. Once she’s outside the coffee shop, Emma starts running back to her car. Her balance is thrown off by the sudden impact of a large, hard body. Before she can go tumbling on the ground, a warm hand grabs her by the elbow, hoisting her into standing position. 

She looks up through her tears to see Killian looking down at her, a look of worry in his eyes. He’s in uniform, so he must be getting some coffee on his break. “Are you alright, love?”

Nodding, she manages to subdue her tears to respond. “Everything is fine. I’m fine,” she clarifies.

He doesn’t look like he believes her. “Take a walk with me, Swan.”

She doesn’t question him or ask him why he’s not at the office. Merely, she walks beside him, stuffing her hands into her red leather jacket’s pockets. They don’t say anything for a couple of minutes, just walks down to the pier in compatible silence. Looking at him from the corner of her eye, she can’t help but wonder the other reason he’s so broken. It can’t have all been from a woman who cheated on him. No, it has to be something much deeper than that.

“It was two years ago. Liam and I were fishing. There was a storm, and I suggested we head back to shore because it was become too hard to see anything in front of us. Our boat was grand by any means, and I had been meaning to fix the boom. The winds were heavy, and I was trying to steer us back to shore. The boom came down, hitting Liam square in the head, knocking him overboard,” Killian pauses, resting his hands on the railing overlooking the water.

Emma stands beside him, considering putting her hand on his arm to ensure him he’s not alone. That she’s here if he needs her. “Killian, I am so sorry.”  
He surprises her by taking one of her hands in his. She doesn’t fight it, knowing he needs some semblance of comfort from her. Telling her this can’t be easy for him. “I jumped in after him, the storm slowing down just a tick. I pulled him above water. Before I leapt in, I remembered to tie a rope. I got him back on deck, tried to savee him, but to no avail. He wasn’t breathing. The doctors pronounced him dead on the spot.”

“Oh, Killian.”

“It’s my fault, Emma,” he turns to her. “It’s my fault he’s dead.”

She stops him by putting her hand on his cheek. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that again, Killian Jones. You tried to save her. There was nothing you could’ve done.”

He leans into her touch. “What’s troubling you?”

She was hoping he wasn’t spilling his guts as a way to get her to open up. But looking into his eyes, she can see that’s not the case. He really needed to get that out in the open. 

“Nothing, just stress,” she lies. He just told her the reason he’s broken, and she chooses to lie right to his face. She’s an awful person; she knows that.

“I like you, Swan,” he pauses. “You make me want to be a better man. Seeing you with Liam the other night and your relationship with Henry.”

She shakes her head at him. “Please. Please don’t do this, Killian. We can’t.”

“Why the bloody hell not?” 

“Because your my boss!” she whirls on him. “I need this job, Killian. I need this job to support my son and to prove to everyone that I’m capable of doing this alone!”

His jaw locks. “I never once implied that I didn’t think you could, Swan.”

“No, but you have that look in your eyes that everyone else always gave to me. When you’re an orphan your whole life, you get very familiar with it,” she lets that information about her life slip. It’s not something she tends to broadcast very often. “I need to leave.”

Doing what she does best, she runs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems like updates will probably be Saturdays because school is taking over my life. Hope you enjoy!

It’s been four days of avoiding Killian, and Emma had gotten real good at it. It helped that David and her were constantly out of the station. 

Until Friday when she was stuck doing filing work. They really needed to hire another secretary that wasn’t constantly skipping work for who knows what. Emma had been sitting in her cubicle, sipping her coffee when a woman stopped by her desk. The woman was beautiful: dark brown hair, long lashes, extremely long legs. 

“Do you know where Killian Jones’s office is?” she asks Emma.

Emma gives the woman a once over. “Depends. Who are you?”

“The name’s Aurora. I-um-we have a date,” she says.

Of course. Because Killian Jones is just like every other guy on the planet. They talk a good game. Get the woman to swoon into their arms or beds, and then the next day they have someone new. Because even sometimes telling your darkest, most deepest secrets doesn’t mean anything to anyone anymore. Especially, it seems, to Killian. Then why had he bothered with the sad story?

“Let me go get him for you,” Emma tells Aurora, practically stomping to Killian’s office.

“So what?” Emma slams the door shut to Killian’s office, not even bothering with greetings or even knocking to enter. “Do you tell every woman that story to woo them into your bed? Is that all you think of me?”

Killian gives her a questioning look. “Swan, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, Killian,” she goes over to his desk, pressing her hands against his desk in ager. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t help but want the man in front of her. But she can’t have him, and she never will. Not with how he treats woman like they’re yesterday’s hot news.

“Aurora is out there waiting for your date,” she seethes before turning to walk out of the door. So maybe that’s not how she intended for that to go. She went ahead and basically divulged her feelings for the man.

Killian watches as Emma leaves his office. He decides to go after. He finds her in the break room, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Lord knows she needs it with how hard she’s been working. Both actually working and working at avoiding him since last weekend when she denied her feelings for him.

“You said no to me, Emma,” he spits out. “You walked away from me, so stop playing the jealous ex.”

She whirls around, resisting the urge to slap him across the face. “Go to hell!” she says before storming back to her cubicle. In her earnest to remain professional, she drowns herself in paperwork until it’s time for her to get Henry from school. But then she remembers he’s spending the night at another boy’s house tonight for a birthday party.

So Emma finds a bench near the water, sitting criss-cross on the bench. She reaches inside her purse for the book Mary Margaret recommended early in the week. The two women have made it a ritual to meet for coffee or dessert on Thursday nights. 

Looking into the distance, she watches as boats go past in the water. Screams of joy sounding from the water. She sighs, wishing things were different. Wishing that Killian wasn’t her boss, and she could actually date a man that treated her well and made her happy. However, that was not her life. Her life wasn’t some story book. And Emma was not a princess waiting to be rescued by a tall, dark and handsome prince. How she wishes that were the case.

Heading home, she starts getting fidgity. It’s nine on a Friday, and she’s home alone. Even her son has more of a social life than she does. She’s only thirty; she should be out having fun, meeting men.

Putting on a tight dress, she lets her hair out of her pony tail and touches up her makeup. Walking in her heels, she stops outside of a bar called “O’Rieleys.” She doesn’t know much about the good local bars, but this one doesn’t seem like a crap hole, so she deems it safe to go inside. The pub is filled with people around her age, all talking to one another or drinking away their worries. She joins those at the bars, ordering a rum and coke, double on the rum, she requests from the bartender. He’s a cute man: curly brown hair and brown eyes. He tells her his name is Graham, and he has an Irish accent to accompany his charming looks.

“So what brings a woman like yourself to a pub on a Friday night?” Graham asks her. 

Emma takes a drink. “Looking to forget everything around me.”

“Understandable. Wish I could do the same, but unfortunately, the hours I don’t work would make that inappropriate” he laughs.

She smiles for what it’s worth. He seems like a nice guy. “That’s probably true.”

“So, Emma, what do you do?”

“Police officer,” she empties the rest of her drink, and Graham makes another one for her.

He nods his head with a respectful smile on his face. “I’m impressed.”  
“Yeah, she’s the best on the force,” a deep voice says from beside her.

Emma turns to see Killian. He’s alone. The date with Aurora must not have gone as well as he would have hoped. She can’t help but let out a satisfied sigh at that. Killian asks Graham for a shot of rum, Graham clearly looking annoyed at Killian for sabotaging his flirting with Emma. Which is too bad; she wouldn’t have minded some more mindless flirting with the man.

“What are you doing here?” she doesn’t make eye contact with him.

“I never went on the date with Aurora. Told her I had feelings for a stubborn lass that’s way too good for me.”

This time Emma does look at him, and she doesn’t see any signs of him lying. She has a way of reading people for lies. Killian isn’t lying at all. “Oh,” is all she says.

“I didn’t expect to see you here though, Swan.” He drinks down the shot of rum in one swig. She watches him as he flags down Graham for another shot.

They drink in compatible silence until Emma tells him she should be going. Killian offers to walk her home, and she lets him. They can still be friends. Even though she doesn’t quite understand why he wants to after the way she’s been treating him. Maybe he’s just as stubborn as she is and has met her match. Whatever the reason, she agrees. 

When they get to her apartment, Killian starts to tell her good bye. Maybe it’s the alcohol that prompts her, but she asks him to come inside with her. “For coffee?”

He nods his head, following her upstairs to her apartment. He shrugs out of his black leather jacket, and Emma tells him to make himself comfortable on the couch. She brews them each a cup of coffee, leaving it black for him. She already knows from work how he takes his coffee. On the other hand, she likes her coffee filled with sugar and cream.

Cradling her coffee in her hands, she excuses herself to change out of her dress. She comes back in flannel pants and a plain grey shirt. He’s never seen her look more beautiful than at this moment. In an attempt to not kiss her right on the spot, Killian brings the coffee cup to his lips, watching Emma as she puts on something on Netflix. He doesn’t know the movie, but he doesn’t care much about what they watch. He’s just glad his with her.

“I hated seeing her at work,” Emma slips out.

“What’s that, love?”

She looks sideways at him, deciding that maybe lowering her walls isn’t such a bad thing. After all, she went out tonight to meet a man. Deep down, she knows that Killian is the man she was looking for. There seems to be some undeniable pull to him. She can’t quite describe it, but she knows she wants him.

“When she told me she was here for you, I wanted to pull her hair out like some teenage girl.”

He sets his coffee mug down. “Ah. You were jealous,” he states simply, not even bothering to make it seem like a question.

“Yes,” she turns towards him. “I wanted so badly to pretend that I didn’t want anything to do with you, but I just. I don’t want to run anymore, Killian, but I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of, love?”

She sets her mug down now too. “You. What if you decide I’m not worth it? There’s some things you don’t know about me, Killian.”

He scoots closer to her, putting his hands on either side of her face. His blue eyes speak to her in ways she can’t help but become addicted to. “And there’s things you don’t know about me, but sometimes, you have to take that chance. You’ll miss out on a lot of chances if you don’t.”

The alcohol has definitely clogged her head. Leaning into her, she brings her lips to his. The kiss is sweet, but Emma wants more. She pushes her back onto the couch, so she’s straddling him. Killian’s hands are gripping her waist, question in his eyes. Just as she leans down to bring her lips back to his, a loud knock sounds from the door. Groaning, Killian lifts her from his lap, walking to the door to open it.

He opens the door to find Mary Margaret on the other side of it. She looks between Emma and Killian, amusement in her eyes. “Hey, you two!”

Emma is annoyed by Mary Margaret’s intrusion. She was ready to not think about the consequences for once. Talk about bad timing. Smiling, she ushers her inside. “What are you doing here so late?”

It’s nearly eleven. “Well, David’s working late, and I got bored so I brought some wine. Did I interrupt something?”

“No, we were, uh, just having coffee,” Emma says without any signs of embarrassment.

Killian goes to the couch to grab his jacket. “You go ahead and have a girl’s night. I’ll get out of your hair.” He kisses Emma quickly on the cheek before winking at her and leaving.

As soon as the door closes, Mary Margaret practically tackles Emma. “Are you two?!”

Emma merely nods. “I think so. I mean, I kissed him and I think we were about to-“  
She blushes as Emma trails off. “Oh. I can’t believe I interrupted.”

Emma waves her off, pulling two wine glasses from the cupboard. “There will be plenty of time for that. Plus, what kind of friend would I be if I blew off my friends for a guy?”

“The kind I would support. It’s okay, Emma. You both deserve to be happy, and if you ever have to blow me off for him, I won’t mind.”

“How about we get wine drunk and watch cheesy romance movies?” Emma suggests.

Mary Margaret holds her glass out to Emma. “Oh definitely!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am the worst at updating, but school has been kicking my butt. This is unedited, so hopefully it's not too awful. As always, comments are always appreciated! :)

Emma is standing in her kitchen, nervously adding sugar to her coffee. You would think that she was a teenager getting ready for her parents to meet her new boyfriend. It’s been a week since the night Emma saw Killian in the bar. They flirted at work, but since he was her boss, she had to pretend there was nothing going on between them. They texted back and forth, and sometimes he would call her at night before she went to bed. Then yesterday, he said he wanted to take her out and wanted Henry to accompany them. 

So here she was in her kitchen at eight in the morning. Killian said he would be by around ten to pick them up for their Saturday adventure. However, he never disclosed to her what the plans were. He just said to dress in clothes that she didn’t mind getting dirty in. So she settled for yoga pants and a hoodie. She’s been up since well before seven, and she knows she’ll need a ot of coffee to get through today.

Henry comes shuffling into the kitchen a half an hour later. He wasn’t all too happy to learn he would need to wake up before ten on a weekend, but he was excited when she mentioned Killian. Henry needs a male in his life that will be a good influence on him.

“Do you think I could have some of that?” Henry gestures to the coffee pot.

Emma quirks an eyebrow at him. “You’re 12.”

He shrugs his shoulders, grabbing his favorite cereal and milk from the fridge. Emma sits down beside him, taking the box of cereal from his hands. “Killian said he’s taking us out for breakfast.”

“So,” Henry leans back in his chair at the kitchen counter. “Is he like your boyfriend?”

Emma shurgs her shoulders this time. “We’re friends.”

“Mom,” he waits for her to look at him. “You’ve never introduced me to your friends. In fact, I don’t even think you have any friends. Besides Mary Margaret.”

“I have friends!” Emma says almost offended. Sure, she doesn’t have many friends, but she does have a couple. 

Henry takes a sip from her coffee mug and hops down from his chair. “I’m going to get ready.”

At ten o’clock, basically on the dot, there’s a knock at her door. Her heart picks up pace as Henry comes running down the hall to answer the door. Emma doesn’t have the heart to tell him she’ll get the door.

“Hey Killian!” Henry greets him enthusiastically. 

“Henry, how are you?” 

Emma appears in the doorway and he smiles at her. “Hey.”

“Hello, love.”

Henry rolls his eyes. “Please tell me you guys aren’t going to be all gross all day.”

“Henry!” she scolds her son while Killian laughs lightly to himself. 

“The lad does have a point,” Killian moves over to Emma, giving her a kiss on her cheek.

Henry puts his hands over his eyes. “Really, Killian? I thought you were the cool one.”

Now it’s Emma who’s rolling her eyes. She goes to get her beanie, tugging it over her head. Fall is quickly approaching, so the weather is getting a bit chilly. She doesn’t mind though. It’s a nice change. They head out into the nippy air, Killian ushering them to his car parked on the side of the road. He holds the door open for Henry before making his way to open the door for Emma.

Getting into the driver’s seat, Emma turns her suspicion onto him. “So where are we off to? You don’t plan to drive us to some deserted place and leave us there are you?”

“Of course not, Swan. But it’s a secret.”

Forty minutes later they arrive in Lexington on front of a small diner that looks right out of a story book. Henry races to the front door, and Emma calls after him to wait. She’s never seen him act so carefree. He’s always been a more mature kid. Life made him grow up faster than other boys his age.

Emma lets Killian take her hand in his as they walk into the diner, Henry in front of him. He picks them a booth near the back with Henry on one side and Killian and Emma on the other. Emma looks at the wide variety of selection to eat. An older woman comes over to the table just then, kissing Killian on his cheek.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, my dear!” she says.

Killian smiles up at the older woman. “Work has been keeping me busy. There’s someone, well two someones, I would like you to meet. This is Emma Swan and her son Henry.”

Granny smiles at Emma before putting a grandmotherly hand onto Henry’s shoulder. “Wow, you two must be special. Killian doesn’t just bring anyone here.”

“That does make me feel special,” Emma lets out a laugh, eyeing Killian from the corner of her eye.

“Killian here used to work for me throughout high school and part of college. He was always flirting with the girls. This one is a charmer.”

Killian’s cheeks flash a quick shade of pink. “Well it certainly helped with the tips I got by the end of my shifts.”

“Can I get you three something to drink?”

Emma and Killian both order coffee, and Henry orders a hot cocoa with cinnamon on his whipped cream. It’s his favorite drink, and Emma and him often indulge in it quite often on the weekends. Granny comes back with their drinks and they order their food. Killian tells Henry about his days in junior high when he would get in trouble for talking in class.

By the time their food has been eaten, Killian walks them over to the beginning of a trail. “You both ready for a hike?”

“Yes!” Henry says excitedly. Since Emma and him have always lived in a city, they never had the chance to go on a hike in nature. It’s a nice change of scenery, that’s for sure. 

Along the walk, Killian points out some significant plants. She’s impressed with how much he knows about nature. They arrive at an old cemetery located along a hillside. Emma once told Killian that Henry loved books and writing. So Killian pointed out some of the gravestones of famous literary authors. They arrive at Walton Pond where people are splashing in the water. Henry asks if he can walk into the water to cool down. Emma watches him wad through the water, her head resting on Killian’s shoulder. He rubs her back lightly as he kisses her atop her head. 

“Are you having a good time, Swan?”

She looks up at him. “Surprisingly, yes.”

“Why is it a surprise?”

She stares off into the distance. “I was nervous this morning. I really wanted Henry to like you, and I knew he would, but I was scared at the same time. I know it’s silly.”

“Not silly at all. I would want my child to be comfortable around the woman I was dating if I were you.”

She arches an eyebrow at him. “Ah, so is that what this is Jones? Are you wooing me?”

He wiggles his eyebrows at her. “I guess you could say that, but I was hoping I already had you wooed when you straddled me on the couch last week.”

Removing her head from his shoulder, she disconnects herself from his embrace. “About that…I think we should take this slow. I like you Killian and adding sex so soon to a relationship, I’m afraid it might be too fast with me already having a kid. And I’m-“

“We can wait. Take all the time you need, love,” he reassures her.

She kisses him sweetly on his lips quickly before Henry can see them and complain about them being, as he says it, gross. “Thank you.”

Henry comes wandering back over to them. They’re now sitting in the sand near the back of the small beach. He plops down beside Killian, asking him how often he came down her when he was a kid. He grew up not too far from Lexington. His childhood was quiet.

They head back to his car a while later. Henry is wiped out, and he falls asleep on the way back to Emma’s apartment. Killian helps Emma carry Henry up to her apartment. She leads him to his bedroom, and he sets Henry down lightly on his bed. Emma kisses him on his head before closing the door to his bedroom. The clock reads it’s a little past six. Emma offers Killian some coffee before he leaves. She really doesn’t want him to leave so soon.

She snuggles up beside him on the couch, holding a mug of coffee in her hands. They turn on old reruns of “Parks and Recreation.” It’s then that Emma’s stomach decides to growl from hunger. 

“How does pizza sound?” she asks Killian.

“Sounds wonderful,” he says as he watches her wander to the kitchen to place the order. Thirty minutes later, the pizza is here and Henry awakens from his nap. He’s happy to see Killian still here and even happier to see the pizza resting on the counter. They all gather in the living room to continue their Netflixathon. Henry sits on the floor in front of Emma and Killian who are on the couch. By nine, Killian gets up to head back to his house. 

Emma walks him down to his car despite his instance that she should stay inside with Henry. 

“Thank you for taking Henry and me out today. We both had a lot of fun,” she puts her hands in the pocket of her hoodie.

He leans against his car facing her. “Of course, love, I had fun too. You have a good lad.”

“Mmm…he’s pretty great. Sure as hell didn’t get that from his father.” She clamps her mouth shut at the mention of Neal. Killian doesn’t pry though, which she appreciates.

Killian steps closer to her until their toes are practically touching. He raises his hand against her cheek, and she leans into him. He brings his lips to her in a light careess, but Emma pushes deeper and opens her mouth to him. He takes advantage of her willingness and opens his mouth to hers as well. She pulls back slightly out of breath.

“Don’t want to give the neighbors much of a show,” she whispers with her head pressed against his.

He chuckles at that. “As you wish. See you Monday morning?”

She nods her head, watching as he gets into the car. She waves to him before venturing back upstairs. Henry is still on the couch watching some sports game. As soon as she closes the door, he whirls on her.

“I like Killian. Can he come over another time?”

She smiles at him, joining him on the couch. “I bet he would like that.”

They fall asleep together on the couch to the sounds of Leslie Knope in the background. She awakes after midnight, and ushers Henry into his room to go to sleep. That night, she sleeps better than she has in a while.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, so it's been a while. With college, work and all that jazz, writing has been pushed down on my list. However, here is another chapter for ya. Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Ruby leans against Emma’s cubicle as she smiles deviously down at her. Over the course of a week, Ruby has been the one person at work who Emma has come to call a friend. Besides David and Killian of course. But she needs girl friends; despite the fact Emma was never one to have sleepovers and gossip with girlfriends. Killian and her were keeping their relationship secret, but somehow Ruby had saw right through their façade. 

“How’s Captain Hottie?”

Emma looks up from the file she’s reading, arching an eyebrow at Ruby. “That’s what you’ve come to call Killian? Interesting. If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re trying to steal my boyfriend.”

Ruby brushes that off with a roll of her eyes. “Dorothy would have my head. So, how is he?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? He’s coming over here.”

As if he heard the whole conversation, he winks at Ruby and her cheeks turn pink. “I have an assignment for you both. There’s been a series of robberies near the east side of Boston at a high end store. Taking little by little. They seem to be taking place at the same time, and if we strike at the moment, we might be able to catch them.”

“Are you asking us to do a stakeout?” Emma asks.

“That’s exactly what I’m asking your, Officer Swan.”

Ruby looks between the two, amusement flashing in her eyes. She steps up for the task, assuring Killian that they’ll catch the thief in question in no time.

But by night three of the stakeout, they have become restless. Emma hasn’t slept much, nor has she had time to see Killian outside of work. She’s never been the type of woman who misses a man, but she can’t help but miss Killian. He’s been so distant lately. Hardly sparing her glance when she’s actually in the office before heading out with Ruby for the stakeout. 

“God, this the worst thing I’ve ever had to sit for, and I’ve watched the whole series of One Tree Hill,” Ruby moans while taking a sip of her coffee.

Emma laughs at that, taking a sip from her own cup. She’s been dependent on coffee during stakeouts. Something she used to do a lot before she came to Boston. Being stuck in a car with Ruby for the past three days hasn’t been as bad as she thought it would be. Ruby is quite entertaining, and she doesn’t press the Killian issue. Too much.

“Hopefully they’ll be stupid enough to strike tonight,” Emma says, yawing as she does so.  
Ruby nods at that, opening the box of donuts they picked up at Grannys before heading out tonight. Since she’s been working late, Mary Margaret offered to take Henry in, having him sleep at their house. It makes Emma feel better with leaving him with someone whom she trusts and who can easily drop him off at school.

Emma’s phone vibrates in her pocket just as a car comes speeding to a halt across the street, parking on the curb. Out emerges two figures dressed all in black. It couldn’t be more obvious that they’ve found their thieves. Ruby and her quietly get out of their cars, following the two figures down the street. Just as the one pulls out a sharp object, jamming it into the door lock, Emma takes action.

“Hands up where I can see them!” she yells as Ruby rounds the two with her gun pointed up. Emma stands with her legs apart, gun held towards the men. The one who was breaking the lock, turns around with his hands held up, but the other is more resistant. “I said hands up!”

But before Emma can react, a shot fires and a pain shoots through Emma’s side. Ruby is able to get the man, shooting him in his foot where he crumples over as she throws handcuffs over the other man. She calls for an ambulance, shoving the one man in the cruiser.

Emma is on the ground, holding onto her side. She removes her hand from the place she was shot, blood covering her whole hand. She’s going in and out of alertness, and then she hears the sound of sirens coming towards them. Ruby is at her side, speaking to her, but she can’t hear a word she’s saying. Her grip on Emma’s hand is strong.

“Get to Officer Swan first!” she calls to the paramedics who are running towards them with a gurney in tow. Killian is with them, having slammed his car door shut to get to where Emma lays. He helps the two paramedics hoist her onto the gurney as he pushes Emma’s hair out of her face.

“It’s going to be okay, love,” he runs alongside them until they get to the ambulance. Killian yells at Ruby to get the one booked while David drives Killian’s car back to the station to assist her. 

“And who are you to her?” One paramedic asks Killian.

“Her boss, and you will let me on this bloody ambulance because I have the power to strip you from your job,” he threatens the younger man.

They get to the hospital where Emma is rushed into surgery. Thankfully the bullet didn’t pierce her all the way, only nicking part of her skin, but enough to cause blood loss. They stitch her up and hook her to an IV in her room hours later. The doctor says she’ll be fine, and she’ll need a couple of weeks to rest and heal.

“Sir, only family is allowed to be in the room,” the nurse says quietly.  
Killian is sitting beside Emma’s bed, hand in his. “I’m not leaving this damn room.”

Without putting up a fight, the nurse silently backs out of the room after checking Emma’s vitals. The door opens to Henry and Mary Margaret bursting through the room. Henry’s face is full of worry as he rushes to his mom’s other side.

“Is she alright?” he asks Killian.

“Aye, lad. Your mom here is a fighter. The doctor says she’ll be off work for a couple of weeks as she heals.”

Mary Margaret puts her hand to her forehead in relief. “We’re so glad you were here for her, Killian. I know she doesn’t want to admit it, but she’ll be glad you never left her side.”

He nods at her, eyes darting back down to Emma who is stirring awake. “Hi, love.”

She blinks up at him, going to rub her eyes. “Was it bad?”

Killian tells her what the doctor said, Emma tearing up at the events of the night. She then looks at Henry, who goes to her for a hug. He gently hugs her on the side that wasn’t just stitched up. 

The doctor comes in again. “Is there anyone you can stay with while recovering, Ms. Swan?”

Emma looks at the doctor, biting her lip and shaking her head no. Just as she’s about to say something, Killian interjects. “She can stay with me.”

Henry bounces on his feet. “Can we, Mom? That would be so much fun!”

She doesn’t have anywhere to go, but she knows this is too fast of an offer. They’ve only been dating a short time, and he’s been so distant lately. She also doesn’t want to intrude, but what other option does she have? 

“Are you sure, Killian?”

He shifts closer to her, hand on her cheek. “Of course, love. I would enjoy your and Henry’s company for a couple weeks. My apartment is big enough for the three of us.”

After grabbing some clothes and necessities, they make their way to Killian’s house. He shows them to the guest room where a king size bed sits for Emma and Henry. It looks as if it hasn’t been slept in in ages. The room impeccably neat.

“You should get some sleep. Both of you; it’s late,” Killian says.

Henry heads into the bedroom, throwing back the covers. Emma leans against the doorway in pain. She places her hand protectively over her wound, wincing as she does so. “It hurts so much, Killian.” Her eyes are watering with unshed tears as she says this. She’s never been one to cower in self-pity, but now is a good of time as any.

He takes the hand on her wound into both of his, kissing her hand softly. “I know, Emma. You need to take it easy, so I’ve taken off for the next five days.”

“I don’t want to-“

“You’re not, love. I have a lot of vacation days built up that I need to use by the end of the year. Helping my girlfriend recover is a good use of those days,” he smiles shyly at her.

She brings her other hand up to his jawline, caressing it as she looks into his deep blue eyes. If her son wasn’t in the room, she would have kissed him senseless, but instead she kisses him lightly on his cheek. “Thank you.”

He bids her a good night, and she climbs in besides her son. She falls asleep on her back after taking her allotted pain medications. The bright rays of the sun peeking through the blinds awakes her the next morning. She smells coffee brewing from the kitchen, and she slowly makes her way out of the bedroom. The clock reads that it’s slightly past 9 in the morning. Killian must’ve helped Henry get ready for school. She smiles at the thought of that.

“Morning, love,” Killian calls from his place the stove. He’s making pancakes with chocolate chips for her. 

“Something smells good,” Emma says from behind him.

He turns around, bringing her closer to him by her hips. “Thought you might be hungry, and I know I can’t go wrong with chocolate chip pancakes. Everyone likes them.”

She presses her lips together. “Mmm...and what if I’m not everyone?” she arches an eyebrow up at him with a smirk of her own.

“Then I’ll scrap this into the garbage and make whatever you desire, Swan.”

“Killian,” she starts.

“That doesn’t sound like a good Killian.”

She shakes her head at him. “No, no. I just---wanted to thank you for everything you’re doing for me. And Henry. We haven’t been dating that long, and I never expected you to just drop everything to take care of me while I’m out.”

“Hey,” he takes her chin by his fingers. “I didn’t have to, but then again, you were never asked to get shot by some piece of-“

It’s her turn to cut him off by pressing her lips to his. He kisses her bag, his grip on her hips tightening as Emma lets herself get carried away by his kiss. She opens up to him, granting him access, their tongues moving against one another. Using her hips, she pushes Killian up against the counter behind him, suppressing a moan as she does so.

“Easy, love,” he mumbles against her lips. “You’re still hurting, and we shouldn’t get carried away.”

Pulling back, she presses her lips to his in a quick kiss. “I’ve just missed you.”

“Aye,” he gazes down at her into her green eyes. “Me too, but when you’re all healed…”

She nods her head. “Yeah. So Henry made it to school on time?”

He continues flipping the pancakes that have gone slightly brown around the edges. “He said he’ll get hot lunch today.”

“It’s not your job to help him, but thank you.”

“I care for you and for your boy, Swan. I’ll help in any way that I’m needed,” he tells her with honestly flashing in his eyes, and Emma knows that he has stolen her heart completely, and she doesn’t know how she’ll avoid being hurt by him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will address why Killian was being all distant in last chapter soon. Hope you enjoy! Comments always appreciated! Sorry for any errors as I don't edit because I'm lazyyyyy,

Killian goes back to work the following Monday. Under doctor’s orders, Emma still has another two weeks until she can go back to work. Just as Killian is about to leave for the day, he leaves the pot of coffee full for when she awakes. Henry will be getting up to go to school in a bit anyway.

Glancing at the clock, he sees it’s almost 6 a.m., and he needs to be at the station soon. He agreed to cover the early morning shift so he can spend the afternoon and night with Emma and Henry. Tonight Henry has a class art show that some of his work will be displayed. Since him and Emma are trying to be discreet about their relationship out in public, he couldn’t say no to when Henry asked him to come.

By the time lunch rolls around, Killian sends Emma a text to see how she’s doing. She replies with a picture of her feet perched on the coffee table with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She’s watching some cheesy romance movie on Hallmark. He smiles at it, telling her he’ll be home in a couple of hours.

“What’s that smile for, Captain Jones?” Ruby says from the doorway of his office.

“None of your business Officer Lucas,” he mutters from his place at his desk. “What’s up?”

She comes into the office, closing the door behind her. “I was wondering how Emma is. I haven’t heard much from her the past week. You must be stealing all of her energy for me to not even receive a text from her. She’s on strict orders for nothing physical, Jones.”

He nearly falls out of his chair by her bluntness. Then again, he shouldn’t really be surprised with what comes out of her mouth. When he first hired her, she had no problem telling him that he was way too hot to be in this line of work. Whatever that meant. However, over the past four years she’s been on the force with him, she’s become one of the best officers Boston has seen. Her and Emma also make a great team.

“Emma is fine.”

“You’re evading the real question here,” she slumps down in the chair across from him.

“Which is?”

She rolls her eyes as if it isn’t the most obvious thing in the world. “I know about you two, you know. Who are you trying to fool? You two make googley eyes at each other all the time. It’s kind of gross.”

Killian crosses his arms over his chest. “We do not make eyes,” he states firmly. If Ruby knows about Emma and him, he’s starting to wonder who else knows of their covert relationship. There could be consequences if it got out he was dating one of his officers. There’s got to be some rules about it. 

“Fine, you don’t make eyes, but you can cut the tension with a knife. If you’re not more careful, the whole precinct might be onto the two of you. So how are things? I haven’t seen you with a woman, well ever.”

“My track record with woman haven’t been great,” he says under his breath. “It’s going well.”

Ruby leans forward in her seat as if she’s expecting him to reveal everything about their love affair. She taps her red nails against his desk. “You’re in love with her.”

She doesn’t phrase it as a question. Mentions it as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. There’s no way he’s in love with her. They haven’t been together that long, and she’s only just moved to Boston. Nobody falls in love that quickly unless you’re a character from a story book, which Emma and he are not. 

“Don’t you have work to do?” she throws a file down on his desk, indicating that this conversation is over. She merely rolls her eyes at him but gets back to work like she’s told. Killian decides to cut work an hour early. Even though Emma told him not to worry about her while she’s gone, he can’t help but worry about her. She was shot only a week ago.

Unlocking the front door, he calls for her but is left with no answer. Panicking about her whereabouts, he storms through his apartment until he sees Emma slouched against the kitchen cabinet in pain. Her hand is pressed against where her stitches are, and she’s crying softly.

He rushes over to her. “Love, what is it?”

“I think my stitches ripped open,” she’s about to grit out, reaching for his hand. She squeezes it tightly in hers. “Hospital.”

He gently lifts her from the floor and carries her over to the couch while he gets his jacket and keys. Carrying her downstairs and strapping her into the passenger’s seat, he calls Mary Margaret to let her know so Henry can stay with David and her after school. He swears under his breath thinking about Henry’s art show after school. He’ll be so disappointed that they’re not there for it.

They get to the hospital without a hitch, and Killian rushes Emma into the ER. He shouts at the nurse to get her a doctor, but she tells them they’ll have to wait their turns. When he goes to yell at her again, Emma grips onto his forearm.

“Please,” she whispers.

He lets out a shaky breath as he leads her over to a plastic chair in the waiting room. There are a lot of people milling around waiting for a doctor. Killian crouches in front of Emma, holding both of hands in his, looking into her teary green eyes.

“Hang in there, love,” he says to her.

She blows a stray hair away from her face, nodding at him. He can see the pain that crosses her face every other minute. A lone tear falls from her eyes, and Killian catches it with his finger. “Henry is going to be so disappointed nobody will be there for his show.”

“I know, Swan.”

“I want you to go. Without me,” she tells him. 

He hesitates. As much as he cares for the boy, he’s not his father. He would feel awkward there without Emma by his side. The boy barely knows him as well. “I’m not sure.”

She looks into his clear blue eyes. “Killian, he’s had so much disappointment in his life. He’s dad is a dead beat who couldn’t care less about him. I’m the only constant in his life, and if I can’t be there with him, you should be. He likes you.”

“Aye, if you insist, love.”

“I do.”

A nurse calls for Emma, and Killian helps usher her into the waiting wheelchair they’ve received for her. He follows them into the room, waiting for the doctor to come. He checks out her stitches, which, sure enough, tore. He asks her how that happened, and Emma shakes her head.

They manage to stitch her back together with strict rules to allow her to rest for the rest of the day. The drive back to Killian’s apartment is silent. Emma collapses onto the couch as soon as he lets her in. He gets ready for the art show and kisses a sleeping Emma on the forehead before heading out.

The school parking lot is packed, and he walks into the building feeling nervous. This is something a father would be doing for his soon, and Killian never had a father figure to look up to as an example. It must be how Henry is feeling, and he wishes Emma was there for him instead. Mary Margaret is walking towards him with a happy smile plastered on her face. At least she’s there to keep him company.

“So glad you made it, Killian,” she gives him a tight hug.

“Aye, Emma wanted me to come show support for the lad,” he explains.

She leads him to Henry’s class. “Well, I’m glad she did. Henry’s at an age where he needs a father figure to look up to. Emma really trusts you, so that bode wells for how Henry looks at you. You know what he asked me today when I told him about his mom?”

“What’s that?”

“He asked if Killian would still come to see his work,” she says.

He can’t help the smile that pulls across his lips. “So let’s see this work then.”

Henry greets them when they approach. He shows them the water color painting he’s been working on in art class for the past couple of weeks. Killian’s jaw nearly hits the floor when he looks at the painting. It’s of a navy vessel sailing through choppy waters with a man sporting a hook standing at the helm. It’s impressive for a lad of his age.

“This is remarkable, lad,” he tells Henry. “Your mother will be so proud when she sees it.”

Mary Margaret is ushered away by a parent from her class, and Killian and Henry are left alone. Henry looks down at his feet, a shy aura radiating around him. “I’m glad you came, Killian.”

“Me too, lad.”

An hour later, the show starts to wrap up and Killian offers Henry to go get some ice cream. Henry asks him they can bring some home for his mom, which Killian agrees is a good idea. On the ride back home, ice cream in hands, Henry turns to Killian. 

“Do you love my mom?”

He swallows. “I care for your mom very much, Henry.”

Henry smiles at that. “You know, I’m 12. I know when people are in love, and my mom is definitely in love with you. She’s stubborn though, so she probably won’t be the first one to admit it. Just don’t give up on her; she’s been through a lot.”

“I would never give up on her. She’s really important to me. As are you,” he smiles over at him.

“You’re not so bad,” Henry says with a laugh. “Anyone who buys me ice cream is a good person in my eyes.”

Killian laughs at that as they park at the apartment complex. Henry rushes out the door, talking a mile a minute about ice cream. By the time Killian unlocks the door, he finds Emma at the kitchen counter eating from a can of frosting. She’s smiles sheepishly at them. 

“You’re home,” she gives Henry a kiss on the top of his as he she eyes the ice cream in his hand.

“And we bare gifts, love,” Killian in turns kisses her on her head. 

He places the small container of rocky road in front of her, and she smiles up at him. “Mmm my favorite. Thank you. How was the art show?”

Henry tells his mom every detail about his afternoon and how he liked that Killian showed up. He leaves the mother and son alone for a moment to catch up. On his way to his bedroom, he notices the constant vibrating from Emma’s phone. Glancing towards the kitchen, he looks at the screen. There’s a message from an unknown number with a concerning message on it.

You can’t hide forever, Emma. I will find you.

Killian forwards the message to himself, deleting his transaction from her phone so he has the number. He plans on finding out who is texting his Swan


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the angst, but it was necessary. Also, I like angst sooooo. Also, sorry for the cliffhanger. Comments always appreciated!

Two days later Emma stands in the kitchen, staring down at her phone. She’s been receiving texts from Neal all day, and she doesn’t know what to do about it. Part of her tells herself to ignore it, that there’s no way he would find her in a city so large. However, another part of her fears he would be able to find her. He’s smart.

The other day she came back to her phone to see the message open on her screen. She hadn’t remembered opening it herself. Unless she had, considering she’s been taking a lot of pain medication lately. Her suspicions are answered when Killian comes bounding into the kitchen after a long day at the station. Henry is staying with one of his friends tonight. Usually she’s adamant about not letting him have a sleepover on a school night, but she’s made an exception.

“What’s plaguing you, Swan?” Killian sets his holster onto the table. 

“You tell me,” she crosses her arms across her chest. She knows Henry would never look at her phone without permission.

He arches an eyebrow at her. “Pardon me?”

She slides her phone over to him from where he sits at the kitchen table. He looks down at her phone, is face going blank. “Swan, I-“

“No,” she starts. “You completely invaded my privacy! What gives you the right?”

“I’m sorry, love, but I’m glad I saw that message because I did some research and that number belongs to a Neal Cassidy who’s been arrested more times than I can count on my hand!”

Emma puts her hand against her forehead, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She has to tell him about Neal. Even though she’s livid that he invaded her privacy so. She has to tell him everything. He might never want to see her again, but she needs to tell someone about Neal. If he’s threatening her, she needs someone to keep him away. For good.

“Neal…” she breathes out. “He’s Henry’s father.”

Killian rubs a hand down his face in exasperation. “Emma…”

“I was 17 when I met him. He was older and adventurous, and I was craving to be rid of the life I lived while in foster care. Neal let me believe that he loved me and would care for me,” she sits down. 

“He was harboring some illegal drugs in our apartment at the time, and he left me to take the fall. I was sentenced to a year in prison. That’s when I found out I was pregnant,” the tears that were threatening to break free do.

Killian’s hear breaks for her, but he doesn’t go to her. He knows that she wouldn’t want the sympathy that he would like to offer her. Giving her the distance she wants is the comfort he’s willing to give at the moment. “What happened when you were released?”

She wipes the tears away. “He came back, and we had Henry together. He promised me he would change, and that we would be a happy family. For a while, we were, but I knew he was cheating on me. I left him when Henry was five. But he always needed me to bail him out of trouble, and I always did. It wasn’t until a year ago that he was arrested that I was free from him. When I heard he would be released on bond, I packed Henry and me up and left.”

“Emma, love, did he hurt you?” he inches towards her in his chair. He will kill Neal if he laid a hand on either Emma and Henry. 

To his relief, she shakes his head. “No. Only once, but it didn’t hurt.”

He wants to find Neal and make him pay. He sees the fear in Emma’s eyes. “Killian, I’m scared. For eleven years, I was too weak to leave him. I don’t want him in my life. Or Henry’s.”

“And he’s not going anywhere near either of you.” This time he does go to her. He kneels before her, taking both of her hands in his. He means it when he tells her that Neal will not find them. He’ll make sure of it. “As long as you’re here, you’re safe.”

“But that’s the thing; Henry and I have our own home to get back to,” she says.

He knows it’s too soon to ask her to permanently pack up and move in with him. It wouldn’t be fair to ask that. “Aye, love.”

“Please don’t tell Henry about this,” she pleads with him, the tears still gathering within her green eyes.

He puts a hand to her cheek, and she leans into him, excepting the comfort he’s offering her. She may act like she can do it alone, but the truth is, she needs him by her side through this. Neal has always been relentless when it comes to Henry. He’ll use their son against her. Emma wishes she could go back to the day Henry was born and forbid Neal from ever being near her son. With Neal’s track record, the court would have granted her full custody and a restraining order. It’s not as if they were ever married.

“I swear,” he presses his lips against hers in a sweet brush. She deepens the kiss, and unlike the last time, he allows her to take it further. She’s been feeling better the last few days she’s been home. Emma pulls back, looking at Killian with something in her eyes that isn’t just desire.

“What is it, love?”

Biting down on her lip, she says, “I want…”

He nods at her to continue. “You,” she finishes.

With that, Killian picks her up and brings her to his room. They undress each other as he whispers words of endearments to her as they come together for the first time.

Emma awakes a couple of hours later, wrapped under the covers with Killian’s arms wrapped around her. She smiles, scooting in closer to his warm embrace. He groans at the contact, but a frantic knock at the door stirs them awake.

Killian puts on a pair of pants while Emma grabs the robe hanging from the bathroom door. She follows him out to reveal Ruby on the other side of the door. “Killian, Emma-“ she arches a mischievous eyebrow at them.

“Ruby, what is it?” Killian asks her, worry in his eyes.

“This was left outside of the office today. We already took samples of the DNA and did all the precautions, but it had Emma’s name on it, Captain,” she shoves past Killian and into the apartment. As she does, Ruby raises an eyebrow at Emma’s choice of clothing. 

Emma keeps her lips tight as to not smile at the thoughts that must be whirling through Ruby’s head. She knows she’s going to get an earful when she comes back to work. “Killian?”

“It’s legal papers, love,” he whispers. “To be specific custody papers.”

She puts her hand over her mouth. “How did he find me?”

Ruby looks out of the loop, not knowing anything about her baby daddy. “Maybe I should leave the two of you to discuss this.”

“I think that best, Officer Lucas,” Killian says with a distant tone of voice. He ushers Ruby to the door, but before she leaves, she encases Emma in a hug. 

Ruby looks at Killian and past him to where Emma sits on the couch, looking as if she saw a ghost. “Whatever is going on, be there for her. She needs you, Jones.”

He nods. “Aye. I will.”

Shutting the door, he goes to where Emma sits on the arm of the couch. “He’s not going to win, Emma.”

“I knew he would find me, and I knew he would use Henry as leverage to make me miserable,” she cries out, throwing herself into his arms.

He feels so useless. There’s not much he can do in a legal battle. Besides finding any reason possible to lock Neal up for good. Having looked at his record, it wouldn’t be too hard for Neal to screw up enough to spend the rest of his life behind bars. And how Killian would love to be the one who books him.

“We’re going to win this.”

Sniffling, she looks up at him with wide eyes. “We?”

“Of course, love. We’re in this together, and I will do anything you need of me to help both of you out. In the meanwhile, I will be finding an excuse to lock him up,” he manages to snake a smile from Emma with that.

“How did I get so lucky to have found you?”

He shrugs, grinning at her. “I guess you lucked out. Not every woman gets a dark and handsome knight-in-shining armor.”

“Mmm…okay,” she laughs lightly.

“Back to bed, love?”

She nods. “Make me forget.”

“Always.”

Killian watches her as she drifts off to sleep a while later. He checks his phone to see a message from Ruby. She asks if Emma’s okay, and he reassures her that she will be. Ruby sends him a suggestive message that he promptly ignores. The last thing he needs is to give Ruby any amo. 

Not able to sleep, Killian spends the next couple of hours researching any information he can get from Neal. The guy has been caught for many petty crimes, drugs being the main cause for his arrest. The same crime that got Emma into trouble all of those years ago. He thinks of what Emma told him, about her finding out she was pregnant with Henry while in prison.

She gave birth to her son while in prison. But where did Henry go when she finished her time? Emma had neglected to tell her that tidbit of the information. Settling back down into bed, he gathers Emma into his arms, hoping that Neal isn’t anywhere near them. It frightens Killian that he was so easily able to figure out Emma’s new place of employment. Neal must have some friends in high places to be able to find that out. Then again, criminals always find a way.

When Emma awakens the next morning, she’s disappointed to see that Killian is no longer beside her in bed. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, Emma makes her way to the shower to get ready for the day. Her side is feeling much better, as it’s been over two weeks since she was shot. She can’t wait to get back to work next week.

By the time lunch rolls around, she decides to pay Killian a visit. Stopping by Grannys on the way over to that station, she picks them up each an order of grilled cheese. A side of onion rings for herself and fries for Killian. 

Belle, the secretary nods to Emma when she enters the station. On the way to Killian’s office, she sees Ruby approaching her from the corner of her eyes. Emma knows she won’t be able to avoid her.

“Finally sleeping with the boss. I’m so proud of you, Emma!” Ruby puts her hand against her chest in an overdramatic fashion.

“Keep it down, Ruby!” Emma scolds her lightly. “But yeah, I guess I am.”

Ruby smirks at her. “What excuse are you going to tell people as to why you’re here?”

Emma hadn’t thought of that. Being in a secret relationship with Killian means she can’t freely bring her boyfriend lunch while she’s off of work. “I’ll tell them I came to let him know I’m free to work next week.”

Ruby leans against the wall. “You know, Ems, there’s this magical device called the phone that you can tell people know of things such as that. Try again.”

“I don’t know,” Emma says nervously. “Cover for me if it comes up. I’ll try my best to be as discreet as I can be. That means not having a full out conversation in the middle of the hallway where anyone could know I’m here to see my secret boyfriend.”

“Scandalous.”

At that moment, said secret boyfriend comes walking towards the two women. He gives Ruby a curt nod, while flashing Emma with one of his signature smirks. “Officer Swan, Officer Lucas.”

“Hey Captain Jones,” Ruby says. “Well, I better get to work. Lots of crime fighting and all that to attend to. Text me, Emma!”

Emma waves good bye to her friend and partner. “I brought you lunch.”

Killian smiles down at Emma. “Come to my office, Swan.”

 

She sets the greasy bag down on his desk. “I was hoping we’d be able to eat lunch together, but as Ruby pointed out, probably not the best idea.”

He gives her a nod, but she knows there’s something else on his mind that’s distracting him. “Aye, she’s right.”

“What’s wrong, babe?” she rests her elbows on the desk.

His eyebrows perk up at her use of a pet name. “Just a case that’s been on my mind. Nothing to concern you with, love.”

She takes an onion ring from her bag, popping it in her mouth. “It’s too bad you’re so against onion rings. These are to die for.”

“I guess I won’t be kissing someone tonight,” he laughs at her.

She shrugs, taking the bag from his desk when he takes his fries and sandwich from it. “Doesn’t matter. Henry’s going to be back anyway tonight.”

“Just because the lad’s there doesn’t mean I can’t kiss you, Swan,” he points to her with a fry in his hand.

“Good point, Captain. I’ll see you later?”

He nods. “Aye, might be a long night here at the office.”

Killian watches Emma go as he slips the file back from where he hid it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments always appreciated! Updates will probably be every Saturday as I am back in school. Blah.

The following night, Emma has Henry and her things packed. The doctor gave her the clear to return to work and back to her house since she recovered quickly. She’s spent over a week at Killian’s, and she would lying if she said she’s not going to miss seeing him every day. But for Henry’s sake, he needs stability. And that comes with living in his own house.

“So it’s really true?” Killian comes walking in the door after his double shift at the station. 

Emma goes to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’ll have your home back.”

“I didn’t mind having the both of you here, but I am happy you’ll be returning to work. Of course you’ll be on filing duty until I know you’re 100 percent ready to go back into the field.”

“You’re worried about me?” she asks him, genuine confusion flashing in her eyes. It breaks Killian’s heart to know she’s never had someone there for her or the lad. 

He brushes a piece of hair away from her face, kissing her sweetly on her forehead. Just as he does so, Henry walks into the room. He pretends to gag at them, but he sees the smile plastered across his face. “Aye, Swan. I worry about you all day.”

Henry hops onto the counter stools. “What’s for dinner? I think we should all go out and celebrate that Mom’s healed!”

Emma smiles at her son, looping an arm around his shoulder where he sits perched. “I think that’s a good idea. What do you say, Jones?”

“Let me go change, and I’ll be out in a few,” he lets the mother and son catch up as he gets ready for dinner. As he changes from his work clothes, he pulls out the newspaper article that someone dropped off in front of the station in a manila folder. It’s a story of Emma’s arrest for taking the fall for her ex’s crime. He already knows since she told him the other night. Whomever is sending him this, must not know the close nature of his and Emma’s relationship. Which might be a good thing. 

There’s a light knock on his door, and he stuffs the paper into his pocket just as Emma walks in. “Hey, what do you have there?”

“Oh, just something I wrote up at work and forgot about. What’s up, love?”

Not looking convinced, she walks over to him. “You know, Killian, I’m really good at telling when people are lying to me. What are you hiding?”

He lets out a deep breath, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “Matters not, love. It’s nothing to fret over. Now, I want you to go put on your shoes and jacket for dinner.”

“Yes, Dad,” she rolls her eyes at him. “I really hope you’re not keeping secrets from me because that’s kind of a deal breaker for me.”

Killian tries not to show his emotions. “Understood, Emma.”

After freshening up, he ushers the two of them to the car outside. He knows the perfect pizza place a little outside of the city. He’s still hesitant about someone seeing Emma and him outside of the precinct together in a nonprofessional way. He thinks back to the night she committed to him fully, and he can’t help the pink that tints his cheeks.

“What are you thinking about?” Emma whispers to him, a smirk on her face.

She knows, and she’s taunting him about it in front of her son where he knows he can’t say anything. “Just about how chilly it’s gotten.”

“Mmm, okay,” she smiles at him, grabbing his hand. While they drive to the pizza place, they sing along to the radio. Amazingly, Killian has a really good voice, and even Henry tells him so. She’s never seen him so embarrassed then receiving that compliment. She’ll make sure to ask him about them the next time they’re alone.

The hostess seats them, and Henry tells them all about a field trip to New York City, visiting the museums for a weekend. As much as she hates when Henry leaves her, she’s excited to get to spend an uninterrupted weekend with Killian. By the time their pizza is eaten, they go home. Emma and Henry won’t be moving back into their apartment until tomorrow morning.

Emma arrives back to work the following Monday. Setting her stuff on her desk, David comes by her with a paper invite in hand.

“Hey Emma, welcome back! Mary Margaret and I are having our annual Halloween party this weekend, and Henry and you are welcomed to come.”

She takes the invite from him with a smile. They’re throwing the party the day before actual Halloween, which means she won’t miss out on trick-or-treating with Henry. That is if he wants her to come along with him. He’s mentioned going with a group of his new friends, but Emma still doesn’t want him walking around alone. Especially knowing that Neal might be out there somewhere. It’s been a quiet week, but he always knew when to come in and ruin everything for them. She has to be careful.

“Sounds like fun. We’ll be there,” she tells him.

During lunch, Emma is microwaving her leftover pizza when Killian comes walking in. He’s accompanied by Ari, the redheaded beauty head of forensics. She laughs at something Killian says, and Emma can’t help but feel the familiar tug of jealousy stirring within her. She was never jealous when she was with Neal, but whenever Killian talks to another female, she can’t help but feel betrayed. And it’s pathetic really. She knows Killian cares about her; he would never cheat on her.

“Emma!” Ari turns around to see her. “So glad you’re back. How are you feeling?”

“I’m better, thanks,” Emma removes her plate from the microwave, turning to go back to her desk. “I’ll see you later.” With that, she walks out before Killian can catch her eye. 

She’s finishing off her first piece of pizza when she sees a shadow hovering over her desk. Looking up, she sees Killian standing there, a frown across his face. “Swan.”

“Captain Jones,” she pushes back in her seat with her arms across her chest. “What can I do for you?”

“Emma…”

“What?” she snaps.

He looks around to make sure nobody is around them. They all seem to be out or on lunch. Only David lurks at his desk, but he’s far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to hear them. “Are you okay, love? You barely spared me a glance in the break room.”

Emma wipes her mouth with her napkin. “Of course I’m fine.”

“Okay…” he doesn’t seem convinced, but he can talk to her later in privacy. He walks back to his office where Ari is standing by his doorway. 

“I found this outside,” she hands him a keychain in a plastic bag with a note inside. “Must be the same person who’s been leaving all these notes and trinkets lately.”

Killian takes the bag from her hands, thanking her for it. She assures him she’s collected any DNA that might be on the bag, and if it matches the most recent drop offs, they need to get investigating. However, Killian is pretty sure he already knows who’s sending him these things. Entering his office, he rubs at the scruff on his chin as he reads the letter. It’s basically says the same thing each time. That Emma isn’t as innocent as everyone thinks. He looks out of his office to see Emma rounding the corner from his office. She looks irritated, and he can’t help but blame himself for that.

The day passes slowly as he grows more anxious about finding Neal. He shouldn’t be getting too involved because Emma is bound to find out. But for now, he needs to ensure that her and her boy are safe. That’s all that matters to him, even if it might result in Emma never trusting him again. At the very least, he knows she’ll be safe from Neal.

He takes the steps two at a time until he’s standing outside of Emma’s apartment. She might slam the door in his face, but he needs to talk to her. He needs to figure out why she’s being so evasive. The weekend they hung out with Henry, and they had been on such good terms. There was nothing that could have set her off. Up until he saw her in the break room, he had assumed they were fine. Clearly, Killian had much more to learn about this woman. Her walls were so guarded, and he had hoped that she started trusting him well enough to open up. Apparently he was wrong in that assumption.

Knocking on the door, he’s surprised to see that Henry’s the one to answer. He smiles at Killian, ushering him inside the apartment. Killian looks around to see if Emma is anywhere in sight. He knows for a fact that she left work before he had. 

“Mom’s in her room. Let me go get her,” Henry rushes into the hallway.

Emma comes out of the room, dressed in a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. Even her dressing so casually is a sight for the eyes. She’s never looked so beautiful to him. “Killian?”

“Hello, love. I wanted to, uh,” he looks over at Henry. As if sensing something is astray, Henry excuses himself to his room to start his homework. “I needed to talk to you.”

“About what?” Emma brushes past him to the kitchen where she takes out the water filter, pouring herself a glass. She looks up at him with curious eyes, awaiting for him to answer.

He’s annoyed that she’s acting so aloof about all of this when she was the one being evasive at work. Taking a deep breath, he walks into the kitchen, standing mere feet from her. “Well, your silence at work today.”

“I was busy. What do you want me to say?” she shrugs her shoulders.

He pushes his hair from his forehead. “You’re saying you were so busy that you couldn’t even spare a glance my way in the break room? I’m not bloody daft, Swan. Now tell me what’s going on!”

Emma is taken aback by his sudden outburst. “I said nothing.”

“You know how you can tell when people are lying? Well, it’s a two-way street.”

“Fine!” she slams her glass of water on the counter. “I was jealous of how familiar Ari and you seemed. Happy!”

He raises an eyebrow at her. That was the last thing that he thought was on her mind. He thought she was worried about Neal, but instead she was jealous of his friendship with Ari. “There’s nothing to worry about there. Ari and I have been friends for quite some time, and she’s engaged to be married to a bloke named Eric. Good guy; he’s a car dealership hotshot.”

Emma’s cheeks flame with embarrassment. “Oh,” is all she has to contribute.

“Listen, love, you don’t need to worry about me being unfaithful to you. I would never do such a thing to you,” he steps closer to her. “Understand?”

She nods her head, collapsing into his arms. He runs his fingers through he blonde curls as she curls into him. He would love to stay the night and hold her in his arms, assuring her that she’s the only one he wants, but not with Henry in the apartment. Although they’ve not addressed sleeping arrangements while Henry is around, he doesn’t want to give the lad any wrong ideas. Henry’s very protective over Emma.

“I’m sorry I’m such a jealous head case,” she mumbles against his chest. “I suck at relationships.”

“I think that’s something we both have in common, love. No matter what, you know you can come to me with any problems you may have. You don’t have to shut me out; I want to hear what you’re thinking,” he kisses her on the top of her head.

She pulls away from him, staring up into his blue eyes. He brushes a lone tear from her eyes as she closes the distance between them. Their lips connect in a passionate kiss that soon turns hungry and totally not appropriate for her kitchen where Henry can waltz in any second. However, neither of them seem to care as Emma opens her mouth to him. Killian groaning in response. Emma pulls back, pressing her forehead to him breathlessly.

“Can you stay tonight?” she whispers.

“What about Henry, love?”

She bites down on her lip. “Henry and I have talked, and he knows that you care about me. He’s old enough I think. Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“Swan, I knew you were a mother going into this. Of course it doesn’t. Just so long as you’re comfortable with it,” he presses another lingering kiss to her lips.

“I am. I think we should call it a night. It’s been a long day.”

That he can agree with.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter! Sorry for lack of updates; school has kind of been ruining my writing schedule. Angst and a bg twist ahead. I know the twist is rushed, but I acknowledge it in the fic. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think! :)

Two weeks have gone by, and Killian has been spending a lot of time with Emma and Henry. They don’t make it a habit of having sleepovers, but it becomes more of an occurrence.

Emma sits with her back against the door in the bathroom. She stares down blankly at the object in her hands, blinking tears away. The two pink lines are as clear as day, and as much as she cares about Killian, she doesn’t know if she’s ready for this step with him. This will change everything. And what will she tell Henry? Will he be upset?

They haven’t even said ‘I love you’ yet. This is much too soon. How is she going to tell Killian? He never signed up for her to carry his baby. She doesn’t even know if he wants kids. They’ve only been together for a couple months.

“Mom!” Henry knocks on the door. He must have just gotten home. “Can we get pizza tonight?”

Wiping the tears from her face, she musters a brave face. Hoping her voice doesn’t sound like she’s been crying, she yells back a “yes.” Pleased with her answer, she hears Henry’s feet pad away. Grabbing her phone, she texts Mary Margaret, asking if they can meet for coffee. David, Leo and Henry can hang out for a while. She needs some woman-to-woman talk. Mary Margaret will know what to do about all of this. Emma guesses she’s only a couple weeks along. She’ll have to find a doctor who confirm to her that she is, in fact, pregnant.

Walking out of the bathroom with plans for her and Mary Margaret to meet down the street in 20 minutes, Emma kisses Henry atop his head. Being a pre-teen, he makes a face as she does. Moments later, the Nolans arrive.

Henry seems surprised to see them, but Emma tells him that Mary Margaret and her have some girl things to attend to. He asks not follow up questions. When in doubt, Emma always uses girl stuff to deflect further questions from Henry.

As she’s settled in her seat across from Mary Margaret, she sips on her hot cocoa. If Mary Margaret notices she’s not drinking her usual choice of coffee, she doesn’t make mention of it. Emma doesn’t know where to begin. 

“I’m pregnant,” she blurts out. “With Killian’s baby.” She scolds herself for adding that. As if Mary Margaret would think Emma was sleeping with anyone else.

She’s stunned, setting her cup of tea down on the table. “Oh, Emma, that’s great news! Have you told Killian yet? What was his reaction? I bet he was so ecstatic. David mentioned he always hoped to be a dad one day. Surprisingly, men do talk about stuff like that with one another.”

Emma’s shoulders relax at the mention of Killian having wanted to become a dad. But what if he’s changed his mind or if he didn’t want to have a child with Emma? There are so many what-ifs that could possibly destroy or perhaps, strengthen their relationship.

“I haven’t told him yet. I’m nervous,” she admits out loud.

The other woman reaches across the table to put her hand over Emma’s. “Love is worth risking it all for. I’m sure he’ll be excited, but honey, you need to let him know.”

“What if he leaves me?” she whispers. “Or comes to resent me like Neal did.”

“Killian is not Neal. Go. Talk to him. I’ll cover for you,” Mary Margaret says with a smile.

Emma hugs her, and soon enough, she finds herself at Killian’s door. “Like ripping off a band-aid.” With that, she knocks on the door frantically.

He opens the door, a surprised look upon his face. He looks like he just woke up from a nap, wearing sleep pans and a plain white tee-shirt. The sight of him like this raises Emma’s heartbeat. “Love, is something the matter?”

“I-uh. Can we talk?”

“I found when a woman says that, I’m hardly in for a treat,” he ushers her into his apartment, and she stands still. It worries him; he’s never seen her like this before. As if he touches her, she’ll flee from his apartment.

“Emma, you’re scaring me.”

Emma seems to shake herself from her thoughts, and he sees tears welling in her eyes. Without any hesitation, he reaches out for her and takes her into his arms. She sobs into his shoulder for a couple minutes, him running a hand down her back in reassurance. 

“Killian…” she pulls back looking into his eyes as she says, “I’m pregnant.”

Killian lets go of her. “You’re what?!”

Emma gapes at him. She expected him to be surprised, but what she sees on his face is a mixture of surprise and something else she can’t quite read. Oh gosh, he’s going to leave her. She knew she should have waited. This is all such a mess.

“Pregnant. I know it’s way too soon and-“

“Emma! Nobody at work even knows about us. What am I supposed to say when you show up to work in a few weeks with a baby bump?” Killian starts pacing around.

The tears are coming back as she chokes out, “then leave me, damnit! That’s what everyone else does. So why not you too?”

He turns around to face her, something like heartbreak on his face. “Emma-“

“No,” she holds her hand up to stop him. “I can do this by myself. I’ve basically raised Henry by himself. Lord knows Neal never helped me with him. I-I think we should break up.”

“Emma, love, no. You caught me off guard. I’m sticking by your side through everything.”

She shakes her head. “I need some time, Killian. I just…I need room to process this and make the next step. I need to tell Henry, and then we’ll go from there. I’m sorry.”

And just like she came, she leaves without a second glance in his direction. She knows she’s not being fair, but she’s always been a lost girl. Feeling wanted is something she’s never been used to. Hopefully when she’s ready, he’ll forgive her for putting him through this. After all, she can’t let him abandoned his own baby. Emma doesn’t want that for her daughter. 

She never really thought about Henry’s gender before he was born. But she has a strong feeling the life growing inside her is a girl. As she walks home, she envisions a baby with Killian’s dark hair and her green eyes, dressed in a princess dress with a crown on her head. Killian is kneeling beside her, holding a plastic wand with a star on top. She lets the tears come down her face, and by the time she reaches her apartment, the tears are dried up.

Looking down at her phone, she sees she has six missed calls and 4 texts all from Killian. Not bothering to open any of them, she lets herself into her apartment. She sees Leo running through the apartment, Henry chasing after the little toddler. She thinks about how Henry will be around his new little sibling. He’ll probably love her. Emma has no doubts about that.

“You’re going to be so love,” she places a protective hand against her flat stomach.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm supposed to be studying for midterms but....as always, it is unedited, so all mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy! Also, sorry about the angst, but it needs to be done. Right?

Emma should have known Killian wouldn’t just back off so easily. She should have known that a man had every right to be involved in a child’s life. Even if the mother wasn’t totally on board with it at the moment.

It had only taken Killian ten minutes before he came banging on Emma’s door. She had just sat down with a cup of tea in her hand, Mary Margaret and David having just left. Henry was sitting beside her, arching an eyebrow at her as Killian began yelling through the door.

“I’m not going anywhere, Swan, until you open this door!” he yelled from the hallway.

Henry started to get off the couch to open the door before Emma grabbed him. “Henry, there’s something I need to tell you. I was going to wait but-“

“Mom,” he looked up at her with his big, brown eyes. “You can tell me.”

She glances at the door where Killian is still pounding. She has to give the man credit where credit is due: he’s not one to give up. “I don’t want you to be upset, and I’m worried this is going to be hard for you.”

“You’re pregnant,” he states as if he knew all along. Apparently her son is wise beyond his years. She can’t help but wonder where he inherited that from. Certainly not from her, and certainly not from Neal.

Opening her mouth, she gapes at him. “I-how did you know?”

“I’m 12, not 7.” He rolls his eyes as if that’s the most obvious answer ever. “Mom, he deserves to be involved. No matter what he said, it’s his kid.”

“Sometimes I hate how smart you are,” Emma sighs as she goes to open the door.

Killian storms into the room, taking into account that Henry’s in the room. He meets Emma’s gaze and she nods her head in confirmation that Henry already knows.

“Let’s go up to the roof to talk,” she suggests.

When they get to the roof, a silence settles over them. The timing couldn’t be worse. With Neal still…somewhere, she fears something will happen to the baby. As if Killian sense her thoughts, he says, “I know what you’re thinking, love. I’ll never leave the baby, and I will always protect her.”

“Her?” she raises her eyebrow at him with a smile on her face. The first real smile she’s let grace her face since she found out she was pregnant. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Killian does seem to want to raise this baby.

He scratches behind his ear in the nervous way she’s come to love. “It’s, uh, a feeling I’ve had.”

“What? Since the half-an-hour you’ve known about it?” she laughs.

“I just…never mind. It’s stupid.”

“Hey,” she reaches between them, threading her fingers through his. “No, I want to know.”

He smiles shyly and she smirks at him, encouraging him to tell her what’s on his mind. “I’ve always pictured having a daughter. My family, they all have sons, and I don’t know. Having a daughter with you would make me happy.”

“So you really want this?” she gestures down to her flat abdomen. “Because if you don’t, I want you to leave now and not turn back. I couldn’t risk the hurt I would feel if you left us.”

“I do. And if that means stepping down from my position at the station, then so be it. You both are what matter most to me now,” he places a hand lightly on her stomach.

Putting her hands over his, she shakes her head. “No. We’re in this together, Killian. We’ll let the HR department know about us. It might just mean I’ll get sent to a new precinct or something. You love your job.”

“Aye,” he swallows. He’s been feeling a certain way about Emma for the past couple weeks, but he hasn’t wanted to tell her in fear she’d run away. However, in their current predicament, it couldn’t hurt to let him know his true intentions toward her. She might not be ready, but he is. “But I love you more, Emma. And our daughter.”

Emma meets his eyes; her eyes watering as she digests what he’s just told her. She’s never felt this way about anyone before; not even Neal. But she doesn’t know if she’s ready to fully give another man her heart again. She knows what happens when she does. Neal is enough evidence about that. Instead of saying anything, she sinks into his arms, head resting against his chest. She thinks Killian understands the words she wants to say but can’t. He’s a patient man, and he’s always respected her about that. There’s no reason to believe that he won’t wait for her until she’s ready.

Xoxoxo

The following week, Emma and Killian are waiting in the hospital lobby waiting for their appointment. Emma researched multiple doctors in the area, and Dr. Whale seemed the best one of them all. Mary Margaret said he delivered Leo, and Emma has come to trust the Nolans with things such as that.

“Nervous?” Emma glances over at Killian whose foot is moving up and down in anticipation. 

He smiles warmly at her. “Am I that transparent, love?”

“A bit,” she shrugs. “But don’t worry. This is just a routine appointment. Dr. Whale will just be seeing how the baby’s doing and seeing how far along I am.”

Just then, a young nurse calls Emma’s name, and Emma reaches out her hand for Killian. He takes her hand in a fierce grip as the nurse leads them down the hallway. The nurse leaves, telling them Whale will be in in a minute. Knowing the procedure from when she had Henry, Emma sits back on the bed after changing into the gown they make you wear.

Dr. Whale walks in, smiling warmly at Emma. “Hello Ms. Swan and-“ 

“Killian Jones,” he sticks his hand out to shake the doctor’s.

Whale begins the ultrasound, letting them both know the baby seems to be healthy, and that Emma is about eleven weeks pregnant. Killian watches in amazement as the screen registers their baby. You can’t see much this early on, but sure enough, their little baby is on the screen. Emma glances back at Killian who is looking at the monitor. in such awe that a tear slips down her face. She hates that she ever doubted him. He’s going to make a great father to their daughter.

Emma puts her street clothes back on, giving Killian the picture of the ultrasound. He places it protectively in his back pocket. Taking her hand, Emma stalls in the lobby as her eyes connect with the last person she’d never expect she would see again. Killian stops alongside her, and she can hear him asking her what the matter is, but no words form. Her heart starts to race as Neal walks over to them with a menacing look place across his face. Emma wants to throw up.

It’s been a little over a year since Emma’s last seen him. He was being arrested at the time for another petty crime. “Neal,” she breathes.

Killian looks down at Emma. “How the bloody hell did he find us?” His grip on Emma’s hand tightens as he thinks about all the research he’s been doing on Neal behind Emma’s back. He was so sure that he wouldn’t ever find her, but he’s failed her.

“I knew I would find you,” Neal approaches them with no fear in his step.

Killian pushes Emma behind him, gripping the collar of Neal’s shirt hard. “You go anywhere near here, and I’ll have you arrested.”

“On what accounts, Officer?” Neal raises an eyebrow at him as Killian’s face falters. He’s right, of course. Until Neal proves he’s a threat or a danger, he’s powerless to protect Emma from him. 

“How do you know I’m an officer?” Killian seethes as he feels the light pressure of Emma’s hand against his lower back.

Neal pushes back away from Killian’s grip. “I did some research. You know, I have eyes here too. How do you think I found her?” he nods his head toward Emma.

“You better tell me who’s been trailing her?” Killian yells.

“And why would I do that?” he glances at Emma for the first time. “Looks like you’ve gotten yourself knocked up again.”

Emma hold on Killian disappears, and Killian has to hold her back as she goes to pounce on Neal. “He’s not worth it, love.”

“Better listen to lover boy here. You guys can have this happy moment, but I’m not going away. Henry is my son too, and you can’t keep him from me, Emma. I’ll see a judge about it if you keep him from me.”

“You will never get close to Henry, and I’ll make damn sure of that!” she screams at him, tears threatening her eyes.

Neal smirks at her. “See you later, Emma.”

Emma watches as he walks from the hospital, finally letting herself collapse into tears in Killian’s arms.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought!??

Emma glances down at the letter on the table that arrived on her desk when she got to the station the morning after her ultrasound appointment. Killian and her went to HR right away about their situation, and thankfully the process wasn’t too bad. They just had to sign off on some paperwork for official record.

“What do ya have there?” Ruby sits on Emma’s desk.

“Oh, nothing.”

Ruby quirks a perfect eyebrow up at her. “Okay…Anyway, I believe congratulations are in order! I can’t believe you and Jones are having a baby.”

“Yeah, it kind of just happened,” Emma says shyly. “Definitely wasn’t planned or anything, but we’re happy about it.”

“I know I haven’t know you for a while, Emma, but I’m really happy for you. Well, for both of you. Killian’s had quite the life, and you seem to make him really happy. I can’t wait to see him with a baby,” Ruby smiles down at Emma.

Emma folds the letter in her red leather jacket that is slowly becoming too tight on her. She forgot all about the baby weight. That’s something she’s not looking forward to. And it’s not like she can wear any of her maternity clothes she wore when she was pregnant with Henry. That was 13 years ago, and they are definitely not in still nor does she even own them anymore. Neal made her get rid of them after they moved in together, insisting that one kid was enough. Emma should have left him at that moment, but she had been too weak. Too scared to be on her with a newborn baby. Henry deserved better than he got the past years of his life, but she’s working on making it better for him. He deserves only the best.

“Thanks, Ruby,” Emma smiles up at her, getting up to head to the address on the note. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Emma heads out to her yellow bug parked in the parking garage down the street. Normally she walks to work, but with the temperature dropping, she thinks it’s best to drive to work. Plus, her pregnancy already is making her tired and weak. Emma can’t help but think of Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks and all of the food that comes along with it. Especially mashed potatoes and gravy. And turkey. And pie. Shaking out of her food reverie, Emma puts the address into her GPS.

Pulling up alongside a hotel fit for wealthy businessmen, she can’t help but think why Neal would be here. Walking inside, she looks at the chandeliers gracing the lobby and the pianist in the corner of the room. It’s like a scene right out of “Eloise at Christmastime.” 

Walking up to the front desk, a woman slightly older than Emma smiles at her. “Hello, Miss. What can I help you with?”

“Uh, is Neal Cassidy here?”

The woman nods, smiling at her. “You must be Emma.”

“And you are?” Emma asks the woman. She’s never seen her before. Even though Neal was private about his life, she knew he had a father and his father’s wife was significantly younger than her.

“Milah. Milah Gold.”

Milah. The name stops Emma as she thinks about the story of Killian. He was with a woman named Milah before she ran off with an older, hotel CEO. This is that Milah. As if this day couldn’t get any worse, it does. “Where’s Neal?”

Just then, Neal comes out with his father in tow. Emma only met Gold a handful of times, but from what she knows of him, she doesn’t like. He’s a snake, and seeing him again is a painful reminder to why she left Neal. He’s just like his father. Neither man cares about anything besides their money and their things. Milah must be quite similar to have run off with Gold when she had Killian.

Emma’s phone vibrates in her pocket, revealing Killian’s name on the screen. She feels bad about not telling him where she was headed. Instead, she gave him a bogus excuse that she was going on a stakeout for some rooky thief. He probably saw right through her. Sometimes it amazed her how he read her like he’s known her since forever. Maybe that’s why she lo-likes him so much.

“Emma, it’s good to see you,” Gold gives her a snake-like smile that Emma wants to smack off.

“Can’t say the same to you,” she mumbles under her breath.

Neal looks between the two. “Father, would you excuse us?”

He gestures for Emma to follow him into the back where she assumes is the offices. He opens the closest door for her, and she stands in the doorway. When he tells her to sit, she refuses. This isn’t a pleasure meeting. She wants to get this over with as soon as possible and see the man who treats her how she deserves to be treated. The man who is going to be the father to her baby.

“What do you want, Neal?”

He sits back in the leather desk chair. “I’m good. How are you, Emma?”

“We’re not here for pleasantries. I don’t give a crap about how you are just as much as you don’t’ care about me,” she spits out. The fact she spent so much time loving him, being with him makes her stomach curl with nausea. The only good thing that came out of them being together was Henry. Emma wouldn’t change that for the world. Henry has been her life for as long as she felt stuck with Neal. Now, she doesn’t have to feel that way with Killian. He’s her home now.

“Oh, well, let’s get this going along so you can go back and show your baby daddy this.” Neal slides a legal envelope toward her.

Picking it up, her face pales as she reads the legal writing. It’s a court date for Neal’s guardianship of Henry. Now she does really feel like her lunch will make an appearance. All over Gold’s office floor. It wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.

Neal snickers from across the desk. “Ah, seeing your face is so much better than it would have been had I sent it in the mail. Sadly, I don’t know where you live, love.”

“Don’t you dare call me that,” she crumples the letter in her hand. “You’re not going to win, and the fact that you think you are shows how stupid you really are.”

“Ah ah, Emma. Save all that nice talk for the judge. I’m sure she would also love to hear how irresponsible you are as a mother. Not only did you run away, but you went and got yourself pregnant. Seems to me you’ve been playing too much with your new boy toy that you haven’t been with Henry.”

Her hands fist at her sides. “Go to hell, Neal.” With that, she walks out of the office with tears blurring her vision. Milah watches her goes and follows after her.

“Leave me alone,” Emma calls from over her shoulder. The last thing she needs is that woman to comfort her or whatever she’s doing. However, Milah doesn’t seem to be the type of woman who is so easily swayed to leave someone alone. She’s stubborn; just like Killian. No wonder he got along with her so much. “Did you not hear me the first time?!”

Milah stops in her tracks. “How is he?”

“Neal? Oh you know, a jackass.”

She shakes her curly brown hair. “I meant Killian.”

Emma approaches the woman, invading her space. “Don’t say his name.”

“I never meant to hurt him,” she looks sorry, but Emma’s angry. Angry at Neal for trying to take the one person who’s always been there for her. Angry at Milah for breaking Killian’s heart and pretending it never happened.

“He’s happy. We’re having a baby together.”

The reaction Emma was hoping for crosses Milah’s face as it drops. A tear slips down her cheek. “That’s wonderful news. He always wanted a family, but I could never give him one.”

Yeah, well,” Emma starts walking again.

“I hope you two are happy!” Milah calls after her.

Emma doesn’t respond, just keeps walking until she gets to her car. That woman doesn’t matter to her, and she doesn’t owe her anything. Getting in the car, Emma presses her forehead against her steering wheel in defeat. It’s only then that the tears come and don’t stop for another couple of minutes. Wiping her eyes, she sees the text from Killian.

K: Ordering Chinese for dinner tonight. What does Henry like?

E: Sweet and sour chicken. Thank you, Killian.

K: Anything, love. I’m getting two dishes for you and the baby.

E: You’re too good for me. Xoxo

K: Did Emma Swan just use xoxo?

E: Mmmm. See you soon, babe.

Arriving at the station, she’s disappointed to see that Killian has already headed out for the day. Packing her things to go home and pick Henry up, David approaches her with a smile on his face. 

“There’s the mother to be!”

“Hey, David.”

He grabs her in a hug. “Mary Margaret and I are so happy for you guys. I mean, more so for you because it’s Killian. Can’t be too happy for the man in charge.”

Emma chuckles. “Of course not.”

“You okay, Emma?” David asks her with genuine concern on her face. She realizes in that moment how lucky she is to have David and Mary Margaret in her life. How lucky Kilian is to have them as well.

She hugs him. Her hormones must be really getting to her if she’s going around hugging people. She’s not much of a touchy-feely kind of girl. “I will be. Thanks, David. For everything.”

“You’re like family, and we do anything for family,” he tells her as she pulls away from him. “Whatever you need, just tell us.”

“Unless you can legally knock a man uncocnious, I don’t think I have anything I need at the moment,” Emma joked.

David laughs. “You know, getting charged for assault isn’t really my style.”

They walk out to their cars tomorrow. Emma pulls up along the curb in front of Henry’s school just in time. She watches him as he walks out with two other boys, laughing at something. Emma wants to do everything in her power to ensure that he keeps that smile. Therefore, she won’t be telling Henry that his father is around and is looking to keep him from her. He’s too young to have that much drama and heartache in his life. All she wants is to keep him happy, and she will.

“Hey, Mom,” he gets in the car. “Rumor has it that Killian’s getting us Chinese tonight!”

Emma puts her car in gear. “And how do you know about that? What did I say about phones during school, Henry Swan?”

“Not to have it out,” he says sheepishly. “But I thought when I saw his name that something was the matter with you. You can’t blame a boy for being concerned about his mom and little sister.”

“You think it’s going to be a girl too?” she asks.

He shrugs. “Not sure, but I really want to have a little sister. I can protect her from all the boys and embarrass her.”

Emma can’t help the laugh that erupts from her. “What a wonderful big brother you’ll be.”

They pull up to their apartment where Killian’s car is already parked. They exchanged keys not long after she told him about her pregnancy. It only made sense. Walking through the door, Emma is shocked to see the table set with linen and silverware, as if they’re out at a restaurant. The surprised laugh that Emma lets out is met with Killian’s wide grin. It almost makes her forget the letter burning a hole in her pocket. Later. She’ll tell him about her encounter later. Right now, she just wants to be with her two favorite guys and eat as much food as she can muster.

She doesn’t realize how hungry she is until she loads up her second plate. “

“Is that the baby eating or you, Swan?”

She finishes chewing her sweet and sour chicken. “A little bit of both?”

“That’s all Mom. The baby is simply going along with it,” Henry says through bites of his food.

Emma rolls her eyes at the two guys as they laugh. “Keep that up, both of you, and you won’t be getting dessert.”

“Mom!” “Love!” The both complain in unison.

“Yep. I’ll eat the whole cheesecake myself as you both watch,” she taunts.

Killian slings an arm along the back of her chair. He presses a sweet kiss against her temple. “Our baby doesn’t like that you’re being mean to her father.”

“No no no. You can’t pull the daughter card yet,” she singsongs.

After all, Emma ends up slicing them each a piece of cheesecake. However, she slices the biggest piece for herself. Curled up in Killian’s arms, she watches as Henry stares at the screen mesmerized by the newest “Star Wars” movie. Her whole day washes away before her as she immerses herself in her tiny family. She finally lets herself think of a time when Killian, Henry, her and the baby are one big family. Maybe with a house outside of the city where Henry can chase his baby sister through the backyard. Smiling at the thought, she huddles closer to Killian who pulls her in for a kiss on the lips.

“What are you thinking, Swan?”

She traces his jaw. “You. About us, really. Kilian,” she stares up at him with wide eyes. “I love you.”

He stares blankly at her, and she worries about his silence. Closing the gap between them, he kisses her with a little too much force with her son sitting on the recliner beside their couch.

“Easy there, tiger,” she caresses his cheek. “Later.”

“Mmm…” he rubs his nose along her cheek. “I’m holding you to that.”

And he does.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but school has been a bit hectic! Let me know what you think! I'll be wrapping this story up real soon. :)

Emma awakes early in the morning. Looking around her room, she squints at the alarms clock that reflects that it’s only four in the morning. She still doesn’t have to be up for a couple of hours. 

It’s Christmas, which has never been a holiday Emma has looked forward to. However, the Nolans invited Henry, her and Killian to their house this year. For the past twelve years, Emma has celebrated, just Henry and her. Neal was always gone doing who knows what. This year will be a lot different, and this year, she has a reason to be merry. Getting out of bed, she places her hand on her stomach. She’s already 12 weeks pregnant, and she feels a light kick against her stomach. She wishes Killian were here to feel it, but he had the overnight shift at the station.

Just then, she hears the front door close softly, and Killian walks in the room to see Emma sitting up in bed.

“Something the matter, love?” he rushes to her side.

She shakes her head, instead setting his hand on her stomach. His hand is cold from the frigid December air of Boston, but she doesn’t care. His face when he realizes the baby is kicking is worth the coldness upon her skin. “Do you feel that, Killian?”

“Aye. She’s a kicker,” he chuckles, meeting Emma’s loving gaze. “Is that why you’re up?”

She shakes her head. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Killian undresses and throws on a pair of sweats. He gets into bed, reaching his arms out to her so she can fall in his embrace. Emma goes willingly, settling into his warm embrace. Pressing a kiss to her head, Killian falls fast asleep, but Emma is kept up for another hour thinking about the looming presence of Neal and his father. It’s Christmas; she should keep the fear bottled up as to not spoil the day for everyone else. Plus, Neal is fearless, she keeps telling herself. He may be a jack ass, but he would never hurt Henry. Would he?

Eventually Emma falls asleep and is woken at around ten by a fast knock at her bedroom door. Killian startles awake, moaning about it being “too bloody early.” Emma throws the covers off her, making sure it doesn’t fall off Killian’s body. Henry is outside her door with a wide smile on his face.

“Merry Christmas!” he all but yells.

She can’t help but smile at her son’s enthusiasm for the holiday. He may no longer believe in the magic of Santa, but he’s always loved Christmas. This year is no different. He even made Emma go shopping with him weeks before to pick a gift out for Killian and the baby. When Emma insisted that he not buy anything for the baby, considering she was hardly showing, he was resilient to buy his newest sibling something small. The kid had the biggest heart of anyone she’s ever known. She can’t let Neal take that away from him.

“Merry Christmas, kid.”

He smiles at her. “Are you and Killian ready to open presents?” He bounces slightly on his feet, awaiting her reply.

“Killian got in a little late last night. How about we give him another hour, and I make you some waffles and hot cocoa?”

“With cinnamon?” 

Emma smirks at him. “The fact that you have to ask makes me concerned. Did you hit your head in your sleep?” she laughs.

Henry follows her to the kitchen where he watches her make breakfast. About twenty minutes later, as Emma plates his breakfast, Killian comes waddling out the bedroom. He rubs at his eyes, hair stick every which way. Emma can’t help but stare at him. Even in such a state of disarray, he’s still the most attractive man she’s ever laid eyes on.

“Mom?” Henry has a fork shoved in his mouth.

“Hmm?” she whips around to her son who looks like a cat who ate the canary.

He swallows his food. “You were staring quite obviously over there. Was wondering if you were okay.”

She can practically feel her cheeks redden at her son’s observation. “Uh---fine.”

“It’s okay, lad. Some women aren’t immune to my charms,” Killian kisses Emma on her cheek. “Morning.”

Emma rolls her eyes at him. “Better keep that ego in check. We don’t want this baby thinking it’s okay to be so egotistical.”

“Swan, you wound me.”

“Shut up and eat your waffles,” she instructs him, passing along his plate along with a cup of hot cocoa.

The three of them eat in silence, but Emma enjoys every minute of it. It feels so natural and like they’ve been doing this for years, even though it’s been mere months.

Henry insists they open presents right after breakfast. Sitting against Killian’s chest, Henry passes them their presents from him. He wants them to open presents before he does. Emma rips open the wrapping paper to reveal a mitten and scarf set in red. She can’t help but laugh at the fact that Henry chose red, leather gloves for her. Killian opens his gift as well. Henry picked him out the same thing, except his in black leather.

Henry opens his presents from Emma and Killian next. Then Emma tears open the wrapping paper to the small box Killian gave her. Her mouth drops open at the diamond necklace staring back at her. Neal never even got her something so extravagant. Emma can’t help the tear that trickles from her eyes as she turns around to kiss Killian gently on the lips.

“It’s lovely. Thank you.”

He caresses her jaw. “Merry Christmas, Emma.”

She smiles up at him, scooting out of his embrace to give him her present. It isn’t as intricate as Killian’s, but he still smiles as he reveals the present. She bought him a sweater and pants to wear for Christmas dinner. And as a joke, she also got him a Captain Hook mug.

“Thank you, love.”

Glancing at the clock, the three of them decide that it’s time to start getting ready for Christmas at the Nolans. Mary Margaret told them they could arrive at four. As Killian and Henry get ready, Emma places her homemade fudge in the oven. She’s not the best baker ever, but she gave it a shot. She just hopes it turns out right.

 

Arriving at the Nolan’s house outside of the city, Mary Margaret welcomes them with open arms. Literally. Her first reaction is to put her hands against Emma’s still partially flat somach. She can see the women beam at her.

“I’m so glad you all could come! Leo will love that you’re here,” she takes the fudge from Emma’s hands to put on the counter. David comes walking in, holding Leo’s hand as he greets them. The toddler waves at them eagerly and runs to Killian.

She watches as Killian scoops the little boy in his arms. He speaks with Leo in a hushed whisper before the boy giggles uncontrollably as Killian starts tickling his stomach. Settling down Leo, Emma walks over to Killian, resting her head against his shoulder. He kisses her head, putting his arm around her waist.

The table is set up impeccably. Nothing that Emma has ever seen before. Growing up in foster homes didn’t always guarantee she would be placed in a home for the holidays. More often than not, she would spend it in the orphanage with a bunch of other kids. They would have some lukewarm mashed potatoes and bits of ham. It was nothing compared to the spread sitting before her. She almost cries because of the whole thing. These dang pregnancy hormones are really getting to her.

“This looks amazing, Mary Margaret,” she tells her.

She smiles at Emma, setting the turkey down in the center of the table. David sits down across from Emma. “Mary Margaret has always gone all out for the holidays. She loves cooking for other people.”

Killian sits next to Emma. “Certainly the better Christmas dinner I have ever had. Ever since Dave and Mary Margaret invited me to Christmas a couple years back, they don’t have a chance to get rid of me any time soon.”

“We should host Christmas next year!” Henry says from across the table, taking a bite from his bread.

“Except we would be having takeout,” Emma laughs. “I don’t think I have what it takes to outshine Mary Margaret in this.”

Mary Margrate pats Emma on her hand. “I can always teach you! We could have cooking lessons. That way when the baby’s born, you can cook your boys a homemade meal.”

“Don’t force her into anything,” David politely scolds his wife.

Emma waves it away. “No, she’s right. I already have a family, but with it growing, it wouldn’t be the worst idea for me to know my way around the kitchen. Something tells me Killian and Henry might get sick of having grilled cheese every night.”

“That sounds awesome!” Henry says from across the table.

They eat their dinner, barely leaving any leftovers. By the time they make their way to the living room to watch “Elf,” Emma’s stomach is full and her eyes droopy. She forgot how tired she got when she was pregnant with Henry. She can’t imagine how she’ll be later in her pregrnancy while working and balancing home life. She has thick skin though, so it shouldn’t be a problem. If anything, she’s the happiest she’s ever been. Yet, there’s still a feeling deep within her that everything will blow up in her face. For instance, Neal and his father. The impending court date is in less than two weeks. She knows he doesn’t stand a chance of guardianship over Henry, but his father is powerful. The most powerful in the whole town.

“Emma?” Killian sets his hand protectively on her leg.

She looks up at him, forcing a smile to her face. “Sorry…I-uh was just day dreaming.”

“You sure that’s all it was.”  
“Positive,” she nods her head in reassurance as she diverts her attention back to Buddy the Elf hopping across the crosswalk in New York City. She then turns to look at Henry who is sprawled on the floor besides Leo.

Once the clock hits nine, they start to take their leave. Leo is asleep in David’s arms, so Mary Margaret walks them out. “Thanks for having us,” Killian hugs her.

Mary Margaret shakes her head. “You’re like family to us.”

It’s Emma’s turn to thank her and hug her, and it brings tears to her eyes. Never in her life has she been so included in anyone’s life, but now she has Killian and friends that really care about her. She’ll forever be grateful to have Mary Margaret as a friend. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, but one she doesn’t have a problem feeling.

When they get back home, Henry turns the T.V. back on to get in every last minute of the Christmas show specials playing on Freeform. Emma snuggles into Killian’s side as she lets her eyes shut to the sound of Santa Claus calling out sick for Christmas.


End file.
